‘Dancing With a Stranger’ Poses Novel Copyright Test for Judges

A panel of federal appeals court judges at a Tuesday hearing in Los Angeles puzzled over whether to revive a copyright lawsuit accusing pop singers Sam Smith and Normani Hamilton of stealing key musical elements for their 2019 hit “Dancing With a Stranger.”

Judge Michelle T. Friedland of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said she couldn’t find any existing legal precedent to help the court determine whether singer Jordan Vincent and music duo SKX have a viable copyright claim based on their 2015 song called “Dancing With Strangers.”

“Maybe this is just a novel case,” Friedland ...