Marshmello Wins Copyright Case From Russian Dj Over Happier Song

DJ and producer Marshmello did not infringe the copyright of Arty, a Russian colleague , in making his hit Happier with the band Bastille. Variety reports that the judge has rejected a claim from the Russian DJ.

Arty, who is actually called Artem Stoliarov, sued Marshmello in 2019. He states that the song uses the synthesizer tune from his remix of the 2014 OneRepublic song I Lived . Arty had hired attorney Richard Busch, who won a victory for Marvin Gaye's heirs in the Blurred song case. Lines by Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams.

This time, however, Busch and his client Arty drew the short straw. This case was not about possible musical similarities, but about the contract that Arty signed to remix the song. In that contract he gave up all his rights over the number.

According to Arty's team, he only gave up the rights to the original version of OneRepublic, but the judge concluded from the contract that he also relinquished the rights to his remix. Therefore, it no longer mattered whether Marshmello actually copied Arty's work.

Marshmello, who performs in disguise by default, released Happier in the summer of 2018. The song reached the top five in both the UK and the Dutch charts.