Three Decades Ago, Michael Bolton Was At The Center Of Historic Plagiarism Case

The music industry witnessed one of the biggest legal settlement in history on April 25, 1994. A Los Angeles court delivered a landmark verdict which found musician, Michael Bolton alongside his co-writer, Andrew Goldmark and Sony Music guilty of plagiarizing the Isley Brothers’ 1966 song “Love Is a Wonderful Thing.”

Although there were notable differences between Bolton’s version and that of the Isley Brothers, the title and general lyrics were almost similar; thus the jury determined that the 1991 hit of the same name was a copy of the Isleys’ original, leading to one of the most substantial financial awards in music copyright history.

Isley Brothers initiate infringement suit against Micheal Bolton

The legal dispute started in 1992 when Ronald, one of the Isley Brothers, heard Bolton’s song on the radio and noticed that they were not given any credit for the hit single, which was at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Feeling that their work had been illegally adapted without any recognition, the Isleys filed a lawsuit against Bolton’s version of  “Love Is a Wonderful Thing,” even though it was more complex and incorporated five distinct elements from their original composition. Despite Bolton’s claims that the tune was created independently, and that he had never for once, heard the 1966 song, the jury was convinced otherwise.

Court grants the Isley Brothers compensation of over $5 million

During the trial, the jury determined that more than half of the earnings from Bolton’s hit single could be traceable to the copyrighted material in dispute, and that the song accounts for 28% of the total profits from the album Time, Love and Tenderness, which at the time had sold beyond 10 million copies globally.

In its verdict, the court ordered Bolton, Goldmark, and Sony Music to pay more than $5 million in damages to the Isley Brothers. Although Bolton and his associates appealed the decision, the decision of the jury was upheld.