Black Eyed Peas lawsuit goes 'Boom Boom Pow'

By Eriq Gardner

What's the world's biggest band these days, Coldplay or the Black Eyed Peas?

Sure, we could measure album sales, but we prefer to monitor the number of song theft allegations.

Yesterday, two musicians filed a copyright infringement claim against members of the Black Eyed Peas, Universal Music, Interscope and others for allegedly ripping off a tune called "Boom Dynamite" to create "Boom Boom Pow," the band's first song to top the Billboard 100 chart. 

According to Ira Gould, the attorney for plaintiffs Ebony Latrice Batts and Manfred Mohr, the musicians submitted their song to Interscope Records after the label showed some interest in his clients' music.

Also, last week a New York District Court judge ruled in a separate case that a songwriter's collaborator had improperly sold the rights to a sampled song that provided the basis for the Black Eyed Peas hit "My Humps." (Will I Am Music was a co-defendant in the case.)

The Peas seem to be catching up on Coldplay in the song-theft allegations department. Last year, Coldplay settled a dispute with Joe Satriani over who created the hook to the tune "Viva La Vida." The former Cat Stevens also made a claim on that song. And just a couple weeks ago, another songwriter filed a lawsuit against Coldplay alleging that the band's biggest hits, including "Clocks" and "Yellow," were stolen.

Do the newest claims against the Black Eyed Peas have any merit? After the jump, judge for yourself: