Avril Lavigne Getting Dragged Into Court By Her Pink-Tipped Hair

Looks like someone finally played Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend” for members of the power-pop group The Rubinoos, who have filed a copyright-infringement suit against the singer for allegedly (cough) ripping off their song “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”:

A pair of U.S. songwriters allege her contagious single sounds suspiciously like a song called “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend,” released by the Rubinoos in 1979.

The American song features the upbeat chorus: “Hey, hey, you, you, I wanna be your boyfriend,” much like Lavigne’s boppy refrain, which declares: “Hey, hey, you, you, I don’t like your girlfriend.”

San Francisco lawyer Nicholas Carlin said Wednesday that the similarities are clear, and accused Lavigne of copying substantial chunks of the song from the one crafted by his client, Rubinoos founder and songwriter Tommy Dunbar.

“She’s made a lot of money off of my client’s song,” Carlin said by phone from northern California, where the claim was filed.

“The entire song is not the same, they have different bridges, but the heart and soul of her song is directly taken from our client’s song.”

For those of you unfamiliar with the original, a YouTuber has put together the two songs here; Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Krevaziuk has a similar bone to pick with Lavigne, who will no doubt respond to all of these accusations with some gobs of spit and extended fingers–and, of course, no charisma whatsoever.

Avril sued over ‘Girlfriend’ [CP via canoe.ca] The Rubinoos [MySpace]