Rammstein have reportedly been sued by a synthwave duo called Ninja Cyborg for plagiarism.
Ninja Cyborg, hailing from France, claimed that the German giants stole their song “The Sunny Road,” which came out in 2018, for the 2019 song “Deutschland.” The Rammstein track was featured on their 2019 untitled album.
The French group alleges that Rammstein took the guitar riff, in particular, from their song, and sought out the advice of legal musical expert Richard Dubugnon at the Paris Court of Appeal to see if they had a case in the matter, according to DayFR Euro.
French Legal Expert Says Rammstein Are Guilty of Plagiarism
On March 27, Dubugnon stated that “without a doubt,” Rammstein “voluntarily borrowed the riff and other melodic elements” from Ninja Cyborg’s “The Sunny Road,” adding that there are “too many similarities” and it is plagiarism “without a doubt.”
Ninja Cyborg, ‘The Sunny Road’
Rammstein, ‘Deutschland’
Ninja Cyborg Were Apparently Accused of Plagiarizing Rammstein by Fans
The report by DayFR Euro further adds that the members of Ninja Cyborg, Marc Botté and Martin Antiphon, were accused of plagiarizing Rammstein by fans online first, even though “The Sunny Road” came out months before “Deutschland” did. They claim the accusations started sometime in 2020.
“I don’t like Rammstein and I don’t listen to this group,” Botté told Le Nouvel Obs. “I created that riff. I knew very well that I hadn’t plagiarized them.”
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Ninja Cyborg’s First Case Against Rammstein Was Dismissed in 2021
The duo attempted to file a suit against Rammstein back in 2021, but it was dismissed. They appealed the case and requested the assistance of a music expert, thus the court appointed one to the case in 2022.
“We want this piece to be recognized as ours and that we no longer spend our lives as artists perpetually justifying ourselves,” they declared to Le Nouvel Obs.
As a result, the musicians will use the conclusions of Dubugnon during the first hearing before the Intellectual Property Chamber of the Paris Judicial Court on Sept. 10.