Rammstein is in the midst of a legal battle as a French group, Ninja Cyborg, is suing the German metal band over claims of plagiarism. Ninja Cyborg alleges that Rammstein’s hit song ‘Deutschland’ from 2019 plagiarises their song ‘The Sunny Road’. The lawsuit was filed in the Paris Court of Appeal after an earlier claim was dismissed in 2021. Richard Dubugnon, a legal music expert, cites that “the riff and other melodic elements” were borrowed from ‘The Sunny Road’, with “too many similarities” between the two songs making it “without a doubt” plagiarism.
Rammstein fans had previously accused Ninja Cyborg of stealing the riff, but this would have been impossible as ‘The Sunny Road’ was released a year prior to ‘Deutschland’. Marc Botté of Ninja Cyborg denies the accusation and says he created the riff in question. He admits he had wondered if he had written a similar riff to Rammstein, but as soon as the band learned that ‘Deutschland’ was released after ‘The Sunny Road’, they decided to file a legal case.
Rammstein has yet to respond to the allegations. The lawsuit will be heard before the Intellectual Property Chamber of the Paris Judicial Court in September. The group wants to claim ownership of the piece and “no longer spend our lives as artists perpetually justifying ourselves.”
This is not the first controversy that has surrounded Rammstein recently. In 2020, frontman, Till Lindemann, was investigated by German police over allegations of sexual misconduct. The case was opened after several women accused the singer of drugging and recruiting them for sexual activity. The investigation was dropped in August of the same year due to a lack of evidence. Lindemann denies all allegations
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