Elton John has fired back after being sued over copyright infringement, saying that the accusations against him are not only "baseless and absurd" but also completely miss the "essential legal point."
"The suggestion that the Grammy-Award winning composer/lyricist team of Elton John and Bernie Taupin ... would need to copy these commonplace elements from [Hobbs'] lyrics is not only baseless and absurd, but it also misses the essential legal point," read legal documents filed by John and obtained by TMZ.
Back in April, TMZ and the New York Post reported that John was being sued by self-proclaimed "award-winning" photojournalist and songwriter Guy Hobbs, who alleges that John's 1985 "Nikita" was stolen from a song Hobbs wrote in 1983 titled "Natasha," about his affair with a Russian cruise ship waitress. Hobbs claims he copyrighted the song and sent the lyrics to publishing companies, including Big Pig Music Ltd., which solely publishes Elton John songs, according to TMZ.
John's "Nikita" is about a German female bodyguard during the Cold War but Hobbs claims the two songs bear "significant similarities." Hobbs is suing for copyright infringement and is seeking unspecified damges.
At the time, John was "surprised and disappointed" over the lawsuit, according to the NY Post. In April, a rep for John and Taupin released the following statement:
Sir Elton John and Mr. Bernie Taupin were surprised and disappointed to learn of the lawsuit for copyright infringement brought against them by Guy Hobbs concerning the lyrics of their 80s hit 'Nikita.' Sir Elton and Mr. Taupin do not know the plaintiff, nor did they make use of any song lyrics he claims to have written when they wrote 'Nikita.' In short, the suit is completely meritless. The fact that Hobbs has chosen to wait more than 26 years after the release of 'Nikita' to bring this lawsuit calls his motives into question. Sir Elton John and Mr. Taupin fully expect to prevail against this baseless claim.
This is not the only legal snafu the singer is currently ensnared in.
The Wrap reported that John is suing the Times of London for libel. John said the story, about "the secrets of tax avoiders," falsely linked him to tax evasion.
