Russian pop star Philipp Kirkorov in plagiarism and extortion row with French disco star

French disco star Didier Marouani has been detained in Moscow, along with his lawyer, after Russian pop singer Philipp Kirkorov accused him of extortion amid a row over plagiarism.

Marouani, a founding member of the band Space, came to Moscow in order to settle a plagiarism dispute out of court — he claims that one of Kirkorov’s songs, Cruel Love, was partially copied from his own piece Symphonic Space Dream. He and his lawyer, Igor Trunov, were met on Tuesday by police at the bank where they said they hoped to meet Kirkorov, after the Russian singer filed a complaint against Marouani, claiming that he had tried to extort $1.1m from him.

According to Marouani’s lawyer, Kirkorov had previously agreed to sign an agreement to pay compensation for his use of the song. Kirkorov’s lawyer Alexander Dobrovinsky has denied any such agreement.

Following the pair’s release from custody yesterday morning, Mr Trunov stated that he and his client would now sue Kirkorov in a US court, meaning that Kirkorov may now face a $10 million payout.

Source: BBC News