Britney Spears' songwriters accuse South Korean pop composer of plagiarism

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ Britney Spears' songwriters have accused a South Korean pop composer of plagiarism and are seeking damages, a music publisher said Wednesday. <br/><br/>Universal Music Publishing

Wednesday, March 29th 2006, 2:10 pm

By: News On 6

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ Britney Spears' songwriters have accused a South Korean pop composer of plagiarism and are seeking damages, a music publisher said Wednesday.

Universal Music Publishing Korea, the company that handles South Korean copyrights for Spears' music, said her songwriters had complained that ``Get ya,'' performed by Lee Hyo-lee, sounded similar to a song they wrote for the 24-year-old pop singer titled, ``Do Something.''

``Get ya'' was the lead song on Lee's second album, which was released last month. Spears released ``Do Something'' in February 2005.

Kevin Cho, general manager of Universal Music Publishing Korea, said Spears' songwriters claim the Korean track had been ``partially plagiarized'' and the company sent their complaint to Lee's composer, Kim Do-hyun.

Cho said they were seeking a settlement of undisclosed terms, but hadn't yet received a response from Kim's side.

Kim has said he was influenced by the Spears' song, but denied copying directly from it. He wasn't immediately available for comment Wednesday.

Lee, whose sexy style has earned her prominent appearances in advertising campaigns, is staging a comeback this year with a return to live performances.