Bid to Undo Nickelback Copyright Win Scrutinized by 5th Circuit

A Texas singer trying to revive his claim that the rock band Nickelback ripped off his work to create their 2006 song “Rockstar” encountered a skeptical Fifth Circuit panel Wednesday.

Judges suggested Kirk Johnston’s 2001 song didn’t sound much like Nickelback’s hit and the rock-star theme is a common trope during arguments at the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. A lower court awarded summary judgment for the band members and their record labels, finding Johnston failed to establish Nickelback had accessed his song and that the works weren’t strikingly similar.

The case will address the boundary for ...