“Uptown Funk” was sued, or threatened with suit, by four different parties who claimed the 2014 Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars track borrowed from older funk songs without credit. Two of those disputes ended with settlements, one was voluntarily dismissed, and one never made it to a courtroom at all. By the time the claims ran their course, the song’s songwriting credits had grown from six names to eleven.
The money explains the volume of litigation. “Uptown Funk” spent 14 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and has been certified 11 times platinum.1Music Business Worldwide. BMG Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Unpaid Royalties From Uptown Funk By mid-2016 the track had crossed a billion YouTube views and six million copies sold, with Spotify revenue estimated at roughly $100,000 per week.2Boardman Clark. Bruno Mars Uptown Funk Not So Funky Right Now Numbers like that make a song a target.
The Gap Band’s Claim Over “Oops Upside Your Head”
The first serious dispute came from the Gap Band, whose 1979 hit “I Don’t Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance (Oops Upside Your Head)” contained a vocal chant that Minder Music, the band’s publisher, said closely resembled a hook in “Uptown Funk.” In February 2015, Minder filed a copyright claim through YouTube’s content management system, and YouTube froze the song’s royalty payments into escrow pending resolution.3Billboard. Uptown Funk Royalties: Who Gets Paid
The case never went to court. Ronson and Mars settled by adding five new writers to the credits: Gap Band members Charlie Wilson, Robert Wilson, and Ronnie Wilson, keyboardist Rudolph Taylor, and producer Lonnie Simmons. Those writers received a collective 17% share of the song’s publishing royalties.4Billboard. Uptown Funk Gains More Writers After Gap Band’s Legal Claim The addition brought the total credited songwriters to eleven.5New York Times. Mark Ronson’s Hit Uptown Funk Adds Six Writers
Timing shaped the decision. In March 2015, a jury ordered Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams to pay $7.4 million to the estate of Marvin Gaye for copying “Got to Give It Up” in “Blurred Lines.” According to BBC reporting, Ronson and Mars added the Gap Band credits in part to “avoid a very expensive court case” in light of that precedent.6BBC. Mark Ronson Uptown Funk
The Sequence and “Funk You Up”
The funk group The Sequence publicly accused Ronson and Mars of copying elements of their 1979 song “Funk You Up.” No lawsuit was filed, and no writers were added to the credits in response.7GW Law MCIR. Yours, Mine and Ours v. Sony, Et Al.
Collage’s “Young Girls” Lawsuit
On October 28, 2016, Larry White, the surviving member of the 1980s electro-funk band Collage, joined by the estates of deceased members Grady Wilkins and Lee Peters, filed suit in the Central District of California (Case No. 2:16-cv-08056).7GW Law MCIR. Yours, Mine and Ours v. Sony, Et Al. The complaint alleged that “Uptown Funk” copied the bass lines, guitar riffs, synthesizer arrangements, and overall sound of Collage’s 1983 track “Young Girls,” calling the two songs “almost indistinguishable.”8Billboard. Mark Ronson Bruno Mars Sued Collage Uptown Funk Young Girls
The case had a built-in weakness. “Young Girls” never charted in the United States or the United Kingdom, which would have made the question of whether Ronson and Mars had access to the song a live point of contention. Legal commentary at the time also noted that the similarities Collage pointed to were largely the basic building blocks of funk as a genre.7GW Law MCIR. Yours, Mine and Ours v. Sony, Et Al.
On April 12, 2018, Collage voluntarily dismissed the suit. The defendants’ legal team said there was “no financial component to the stipulated dismissal,” and all parties agreed to bear their own costs.9TMZ. Bruno Mars Settles Uptown Funk Ripoff Lawsuit No credits were added.7GW Law MCIR. Yours, Mine and Ours v. Sony, Et Al.
Lastrada Entertainment’s Suit Over “More Bounce to the Ounce”
In the fall of 2017, Lastrada Entertainment, the copyright holder for Zapp’s 1980 funk track “More Bounce to the Ounce,” sued Ronson and Mars.10The Fader. Mark Ronson Settles Uptown Funk Copyright Infringement Lawsuit With Zapp Lastrada sought damages, a jury trial, and a permanent injunction that would have barred Ronson from performing “Uptown Funk” live. The parties settled on June 22, 2018, and the terms were not publicly disclosed.11Pitchfork. Mark Ronson Settles Uptown Funk Zapp Copyright Lawsuit
The Follow-On Royalty Suit From the Wilson Heirs
The Gap Band settlement produced a second round of litigation years later, aimed not at Ronson or Mars but at a publisher. Under the 2015 deal, Robert Wilson and Ronnie Wilson each held a 3.4% copyright interest in “Uptown Funk.” BMG Rights Management later acquired Minder Music, the publisher that had represented the Wilsons’ interests.12Music Business Worldwide. Gap Band Heirs Drop Lawsuit Against BMG Over Uptown Funk Royalties
In January 2023, the heirs of Robert and Ronnie Wilson, both deceased, sued BMG in Manhattan federal court, alleging that BMG had failed to account for or pay the royalties owed under the 2015 agreement. They sought damages exceeding $75,000 plus 9% annual interest dating back to 2015.1Music Business Worldwide. BMG Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Unpaid Royalties From Uptown Funk The case was dismissed without prejudice in April 2023, with the plaintiffs voluntarily withdrawing. BMG said there was “no settlement agreement,” that it had paid “no money in respect of these charges,” and that the allegations were “without merit.”12Music Business Worldwide. Gap Band Heirs Drop Lawsuit Against BMG Over Uptown Funk Royalties
Why So Many Claims
The pattern around “Uptown Funk” reflected a broader shift that followed the “Blurred Lines” verdict. Historically, music infringement cases succeeded only when melodies were nearly identical or unauthorized sampling could be proven, and copying a style or genre was considered legal. After the Gaye verdict, claimants grew bolder and defendants grew more willing to settle rather than face a jury.13Chapman Law Review. Casting the First Stone: The Future of Music Copyright Infringement
Entertainment lawyer Mattias Eng said a hit song is “virtually guaranteed” to attract copyright claims ranging from “ridiculous” to “cause for concern,” because the financial stakes make litigation worthwhile for almost anyone with a plausible argument. Jeff Peretz of NYU’s Clive Davis Institute, speaking about the Collage suit, put the counterargument plainly: “You can’t copyright a style.”14Pitchfork. Uptown Funk Lawsuit Could Be Crucial Amid Pop’s Copyright Wars “Uptown Funk” ended up as a working example of both views.