Earlier this week, an Italian court ruled that Prince stole his 1994 hit “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” from two Italian writers. The Roman Court of Appeals believed that Prince borrowed heavily from “Takin’ Me To Paradise”. The original song was written by Bruno Bergonzi and Michele Vicino.

The court ruled that Prince can no longer distribute the song in Italy. Prince may also have to pay “back” royalties to Bergonzi and Vicino and their publishers. The amount will be determined later once an additional hearing confirms the song was plagiarized.

“Our song was first released in 1983, at the height of the Italian dance boom and it appeared on assorted compilations that were distributed internationally,” Bergonzi told Billboard.com. “When we first heard Prince’s song we immediately took action, but this case has been dragging on for 15 years and it isn’t over yet, such is the slowness of the Italian legal system. We only decided to go public with our story now.”

Speaking of this song, what ever happened to Raheem The Dream? He sampled “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” in his self-titled classic. Hopefully, he won’t get caught up in this case. Prince could definitely try to recoup his lost by suing Raheem (that’s if Raheem didn’t receive clearance to use the sample).

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