The Weeknd Beats Claims He Ripped Off Music on ‘Starboy’ Album

The Ninth Circuit agreed that there wasn’t enough evidence that The Weeknd ripped off other songwriters in a track on his “Starboy” album.

Brian Clover and Scott McCulloch failed to convince the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that there was a genuine dispute over whether The Weeknd—the professional moniker of musician Abel Tesfaye—copied their composition “I Need to Love” in releasing his song “A Lonely Night.”

Because the songwriters didn’t have a copyright, they had to show that The Weeknd copied their song. There wasn’t enough evidence that The Weeknd had access to their work or that ...