Luísa Sonza and Pedro Sampaio emerge victorious in plagiarism action filed by MC Decão

Judge Simone Gastesi Chevrand, from the 6th Business Court of the Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro (TJRJ), dismissed the allegation made by Decão and gave victory to Sonza and Sampaio. The decision is of first instance and can be appealed.

In the sentence, obtained by the report, the judge states that there is only one verse in common between the songs, which she defines as an expression "without any originality" and of simple elaboration, widely used in funk. "The use of small excerpts from pre-existing works does not constitute an offense against copyright, as long as it does not harm the normal exploitation of the original work", says the text.

In the action, Decão's lawyers asked for the "immediate insertion of the name of the author as composer" of the song "Atenção", in addition to the "suspension or interruption of the performance of the work in all existing media" without credit to the funk artist. They also requested compensation of R$500,000 for moral damages.

Decão's lawyers claimed that Sonza and Sampaio's song contained parts identical to those of the funk singer's song, released ten years earlier, especially the chorus "palm of the hand on the floor". This, according to the artist's argument, would constitute a violation of his copyright.

Sonza and Sampaio's defense maintained that the expression "put the palm of your hand on the ground" is in common use in funk and, therefore, would not be subject to exclusive protection. The lawyers also claimed that the works would be distinct in their essential elements, with the incidental use of a generic excerpt.

In addition to dismissing the action filed by Decão as unfounded, the judge ordered the funk singer to pay procedural expenses and legal fees. The process now judged began in 2024, and the artist can appeal the decision.

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