Billboard Magazine is reporting that the copyright lawsuit filed by Joe Satriani against Coldplay was dismissed.  Satriani sued based on the similarities between his song “If I Could Fly” and Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida”.  Details of the settlement are under wraps but industry insiders say that a financial settlement was likely reached and that Coldplay does not have to admit any wrongdoing.  Both parties will bear their own legal costs.  The case was dismissed with prejudice which means that the case cannot be reinstated.

Neither Satriani nor Coldplay has made any public comment about the settlement.  Satriani is currently on tour with “supergroup” Chickenfoot while Coldplay is in the studio recording new material.  The settlement was finalized on September 14, 2009, but was kept under the radar as news of Kanye West’s outburst on the MTV Video Music Awards took over the airwaves.

What remains to be seen is whether Cat Stevens will file a similar lawsuit based on his belief that Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” infringed his song “Foreigner Suite”.  Stevens has publicly said that he may file suit depending on how Satriani’s lawsuit turns out. But what about the Latin band Enanitos Verdes whose song “Frances Limon” sounds similar and predates both Coldplay & Satriani’s versions?  Are they contemplating getting in on the legal action?  Is the Satriani settlement just the first in a long line of potential lawsuits?

It will be interesting to see whether this settlement affects Coldplay’s habit of publicly bragging about the similarities between their songs and other artists’.  Hopefully, their legal counsel has advised them that this habit is not endearing to fans and could come back to bite them in the butt.