Singers Justin Bieber and Usher (R) pose together after performing on NBC's ''Today'' show in New York in this November 23, 2011, file photo. 
 
 Justin Bieber and Usher were ordered by a U.S. appeals court on Thursday to face a $10 million lawsuit claiming the singers illegally copied parts of a song composed by two Virginia songwriters. 
 
 By a 3-0 vote, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond revived a May 2013 lawsuit by Devin Copeland, an R&B; singer known as De Rico, and his songwriting partner Mareio Overton, saying a lower court judge was wrong to dismiss it. 
 
 The plaintiffs claimed that three versions of the song "Somebody to Love" recorded by Bieber, Usher or both shared the beat pattern, time signature, and similar chords and lyrics with their song with the same name. 
 
 "After listening to the Copeland song and the Bieber and Usher songs as wholes, we conclude that their choruses are similar enough and also significant enough that a reasonable jury could find the songs intrinsically similar," Circuit Judge Pamela Harris wrote for the appeals court. 
 
 Among the other defendants were publishers such as Vivendi SA's Universal Music Publishing Group and Sony Corp's Sony/ATV Music Publishing. 
 
 Defense lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 
 
 Duncan Byers, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, in an interview said the panel "recognized what my clients have said all along: it's the same melody and the same chorus." 
 
 The lawsuit will return to the lower court. 
 
 One version of "Somebody to Love," recorded by Bieber and credited to him as a co-writer, peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2010. 
 
 The plaintiffs alleged that music scouts had played their song, which was written in 2008, for Usher, who liked what he heard and then brought it to Bieber. 
 
 U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen dismissed the lawsuit in March 2014, saying no reasonable jury could find copyright infringement. 
 
 Harris, though, said even the lyric "somebody to love" was delivered in an "almost identical rhythm and a strikingly similar melody." 
 
 The judge also said it did not matter that the Bieber and Usher versions qualified as "dance pop, perhaps with hints of electronica" while the Copeland version was "squarely" R&B.; 
 
 She said to rule otherwise could give artists too wide a berth to profit from others' songs, such as through unlicensed reggae or heavy metal versions of the Beatles' "Hey Jude" that had a different "concept and feel." 
 
 The case is Copeland et al v. Bieber et al, 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 14-1427. 
 
 (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr) ||||| Bieber, Usher We Need Somebody To Love ... On A Jury 
 
 Justin Bieber, Usher -- We Need Somebody to Love ... On a Jury 
 
 Justin Bieber and Usher are on the hot seat again for their song, "Somebody to Love," because some pretty powerful judges just ruled ... the duo may have ripped off another artist. 
 
 The Bieber/Usher collaboration is "Somebody to Love," recorded in 2010. A guy named Devin Copeland﻿, known as De Rico, and his songwriting partner Mareio Overton claim the famous pair ripped off their 2008 song by the same name. 
 
 Problem for Copeland and Overton ... a federal judge ruled the songs weren't similar at all and booted them out of court in 2014. 
 
 But a federal appeals court just ruled, the first judge was way off base, concluding, the Bieber/Usher hook have an "almost identical rhythm and strikingly similar melody." 
 
 So the case now goes back for a full-blown trial where they're seeking $10 million in damages. Listen to the songs. If you were on the jury, would you nail the Biebs? ||||| Masked man made 1,000-mile trip to house of singer, who was ordered to pay $75,000 this week for copyright lawsuit over Shake It Off lyrics 
 
 A masked man has been arrested on suspicion of stalking Taylor Swift at her home in Los Angeles and was found to have ammunition, a knife, rope and gloves in his car at the time of his arrest. 
 
 Julius Sandrock, 38, was apprehended by police after travelling over 1,000 miles from his home town of Broomfield, Colorado, to Swift’s home in Beverly Hills to, he said, “visit” her. Police filed a temporary restraining order against Sandrock and jailed him for three days. He told police he owned three handguns, and is reportedly on probation in Colorado for “disorderly conduct and discharging a firearm”. 
 
 He also told police he has depression, bipolar disorder, manic episodes and obsessive compulsive disorder; he was found to be in possession of prescription medications. 
 
 Earlier this month, a homeless man, Justin Lilly, was arrested for trying to climb a perimeter wall at Swift’s home. 
 
 Swift was also ordered to pay $75,000 (£53,000) in legal costs this week in the wake of a copyright lawsuit filed against her. She had been accused of taking lyrics from the song Playas Gon’ Play by 3LW for her own song Shake It Off, but the case was dismissed in February – judge Michael Fitzgerald found that “the alleged infringed lyrics are short phrases that lack the modicum of originality and creativity required for copyright protection”. 
 
 Swift’s team argued that the pop star should not shoulder the legal fees, but Fitzgerald ruled that she was “perfectly capable” of bearing the cost. He added that Swift is likely to benefit from a legal structure in which songwriters feel free to make copyright infringement claims without fear of huge legal costs. “There are very few recording artists, if any, who have a greater interest than Ms Swift in a robust regime of copyright law,” he said. “Be careful what you wish for.”
– Justin Bieber and Usher might be on the hook for $10 million after being accused of ripping off a song. An appeals court in Virginia today ordered the pair to stand trial over "Somebody to Love." An R&B singer named De Rico claims that he and his songwriting partner played their version for Usher, and then Usher took it to Bieber, and the pair stole it, reports Reuters and TMZ. A lower court dismissed the case, but the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals today put it back in motion. "After listening to the (De Rico) song and the Bieber and Usher songs as wholes, we conclude that their choruses are similar enough and also significant enough that a reasonable jury could find the songs intrinsically similar," wrote Judge Pamela Harris. She added that the lyric "somebody to love" has an "almost identical rhythm and a strikingly similar melody."