Avril Lavigne is being sued

Avril Lavigne is being sued by the members of a 1970s rock band who claim her hit song "Girlfriend" rips off one of their tunes.

Tommy Dunbar, the founder of the Rubinoos, filed the suit in California's Northern Federal District Court in San Francisco July 2. The suit alleges that Girlfriend bears striking similarities to the Rubinoos' song I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend, co-written by Dunbar and former Rubinoos' road manager James Gangwer, and released by Beserkley Records in 1978. The lawsuit also names as defendants Lavigne's publishing company, Avril Lavigne Publishing, and the co-writer of Girlfriend, producer/remixer Dr. Luke.

The lawsuit is not the first mention of the similarities between the songs. Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, in a review published on Billboard magazine's Web site, noted that the chorus of "Girlfriend" was a "total lift from the Rubinoos' `I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.'"

Avril Lavigne sued by Rubinoos

Avril Lavigne is being sued over claims her hit Girlfriend is a rip-off.

Tommy Dunbar, the founder of the Rubinoos, filed the suit in California's Northern Federal District Court in San Francisco July 2. The suit alleges that Girlfriend bears striking similarities to the Rubinoos' song I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend, co-written by Dunbar and former Rubinoos' road manager James Gangwer, and released by Beserkley Records in 1978. The lawsuit also names as defendants Lavigne's publishing company, Avril Lavigne Publishing, and the co-writer of Girlfriend, producer/remixer Dr. Luke.

Lavigne's Vancouver-based manager, Terry McBride, CEO of Nettwerk Music Group, claims the suit "has no basis. There's nothing similar (between the two songs)," he said. "Our musicologist says there (are) no similarities of melody, choral progression or meter." McBride, however, might settle the suit out of court if the costs of defending the case start to prove too high. He said, "You are forced to consider doing this because American lawyers can do these cases on contingency. If I defend and win, it costs me $300,000 US. If I go to get my costs back, the other party declares bankruptcy. You end up footing the bill."