Coldplay: We're Not Plagiarists!

In a rare move for them, Coldplay has responded to media reports claiming their hit song "Viva la Vida" includes "Substantial original portions" of virtuoso guitarist Joe Satriani's 2004 song "If I Could Fly."

Satriani filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in L.A. last week, claiming Coldplay plagiarized his song. The 52-year-old guitarist is seeking a jury trial, damages and "any and all profits" attributable to the alleged copyright infringement.

But on Tuesday, Coldplay fired back, taking to their website to write the following response to Satriani's claims:

"If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him," the band says. "Joe Satriani is a great musician, but he did not write or have any influence on the song 'Viva La Vida.' We respectfully ask him to accept our assurances of this and wish him well in his future endeavors."

Satriani sued Coldplay one day after the band received seven Grammy nominations. Among the mentions were nominations in the categories of record and song of the year for "Viva La Vida," which comes from the band's chart-topping album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends.