The Weeknd Defeats Copyright Claims Over ‘A Lonely Night’

A Los Angeles federal court ruled for The Weeknd on claims that his “Starboy” album track “A Lonely Night” copied from a trio of British musicians, finding they didn’t show that The Weeknd had access to their song or that their works were substantially similar.

William Smith, Brian Clover, and Scott McCulloch sued The Weeknd—the professional moniker of musician Abel Tesfaye—alleging that “A Lonely Night” infringed the copyright in their musical composition “I Need to Love.”

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California awarded The Weeknd summary judgment in a decision entered Thursday.

The songwriters said they ...