The Bellamy Brothers are unlikely to have much of a case if they go after Britney Spears for the similarity between the title of her new hit single and their 1979 country hit, If I Said You Have a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me, reports MTV.
The country duo has recently been making waves with comments about possible legal action against Spears because the title of her newest hit, Hold It Against Me, is too similar to theirs.
Entertainment lawyer Brian Caplan, however, says that "a title is not copyrightable." Speaking to MTV, Caplan, who is not involved in the case, also explained that while expressions in lyrics or music can be copyrighted, a user can’t lay claim to a phrase that is commonly used.
Even David Bellamy admits to getting the idea for the title from an old comedy sketch from Groucho Marx. "But this particular title is kinda hard to disguise, because the title is the song," he insisted in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
Meanwhile, Spears is enjoying tremendous success with her single. Hold It Against Me broke records and shot to the top of the iTunes chart upon its release earlier this week.