The Weeknd Settles 'Call Out My Name' Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

R&B superstar The Weeknd has settled a copyright infringement lawsuit that accused him of plagiarizing his hit 2018 song “Call Out My Name.”

In 2021, producers Suniel Fox and Henry Strange filed a lawsuit claiming the singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, lifted elements from their 2015 track “Vibeking.”

The Weeknd’s collaborators on the song Nicolas Jaar and Frank Duke as well as Universal Music Group were also named in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claimed that “Call Out My Name” “contain quantitatively and qualitatively similar material in their respective lead guitar and vocal hooks, including melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements distinctive to ‘Vibeking.'”

They also alleged that they sent a copy of “Vibeking” to Tesfaye collaborator Eric White, aka PNDA, in April 2015, in expectation of some kind of collaboration with the Weeknd.

“Call Out My Name” was released as a single, went platinum, and has since garnered over 850 million views on YouTube.

However, a new filing in the case states that all parties have reached a settlement.

“Because the parties are still in the process of formalizing, executing, and consummating that settlement, Plaintiff respectfully requests that the Court take all dates off calendar and set a date in 30 days for the parties to file a joint status report if the case has not already been dismissed,” the filing read, per Rolling Stone.

(Photo: Brian Ziff)

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