Bryan Pringle v. William Adams Jr et al

Filing 166

DECLARATION of Frederic Riesterer In Support of MOTION for Summary Judgment 159 filed by Defendants David Guetta, Frederick Riesterer, Shapiro Bernstein and Co. (Miller, Donald)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
SOUTHERN DIVISION
BRYAN PRINGLE, an individual,
Plaintiff

Case # SACV 8:10-CV-01656 JST (RZx)

vs
DECLARATION OF FREDERIC
RIESTERER IN SUPPORT OF A MOTION
FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT BY
DEFENDANTS SHAPIRO, BERNSTEIN &
CO, INC., FREDERIC RIESTERER AND
DAVID GUETTA

WILLIAM ADAMS, JR., STACY FERGUSON,
ALLAN PINEDA and JAIME GOMEZ,
hereinafter individually and collectively called
the musical brand The Black Eyed Peas, et al.,
Defendants

I undersigned, FREDERIC RIESTERER, declare the following:
1. I am a musician, songwriter and co-author, with David Guetta, of the music of the hit song
“I Gotta Feeling”, which was recorded and released by The Black Eyed Peas in the
spring of 2009.
2. I have personal knowledge of the facts stated hereinafter, and I submit this declaration in
support of the summary judgment request filed by the Defendants Shapiro, Bernstein &
Co., Inc., David Guetta and myself, and to clarify parts of a statement that was filed on my
behalf in November 2010.
3. I understand that the Plaintiff in this legal action, Bryan Pringle - who claims to have used
the pseudonyms “Altared States”, “Dead Beat Club”, “Counter Culture”, “Technique”,
“Technik”, “DJ Spanky”, “Spanky” and “Ultraviolence” - claims that a part of the music
of “I Gotta Feeling” was copied from a song named “Take a Dive” (Dance Version) that
Pringle claims he created around 1999. In particular, I understand that Pringle claims that
the guitar “twang” sequence that appears in “I Gotta Feeling” was copied from “Take a
Dive” (Dance Version).
4. These claims are completely untrue. As stated hereafter, David Guetta and I created
independently the music used in “I Gotta Feeling”, including the guitar “twang”

DECLARATION OF
FREDERIC RIESTERER

NY982421.2
217131-10001

[signature]

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sequence, without copying any material from Pringle. In fact, before the beginning of this
legal action, I had never heard about someone called [sic] Bryan Pringle or using one of
the above mentioned pseudonyms; neither have I heard the songs “Take a Dive”, “Take a
Dive” (Dance Version) or any other song by Pringle or of one of the above mentioned
pseudonyms.
5. David Guetta and I began to compose the music used in “I Gotta Feeling”, including the
guitar “twang” sequence, in October 2008. As the lyrics to the song had not been written
yet, we called the song “David Pop GTR” or “David Pop Guitar”. The equipment and the
software we used to create “I Gotta Feeling” included a Mac Power PC G5 computer
running the music creation software Logic Pro 8, a virtual library of instrumental sounds
(or “sound bank”) called “PlugSound: Fretted Instruments” produced by Univers Sons, a
French company located in Paris, and sound distortion software called “CamelPhat”. The
PlugSound sound library contains several “preset” files, that allow a music producer like
me to play music on an electronic keyboard giving the impression that it is played on
another musical instrument, like several types of electric guitars, acoustic guitars and wind
instruments, depending on the selected preset.
6. The guitar “twang” sequence of “I Gotta Feeling” was based on a guitar sequence I
created for a previous song of David Guetta’s called “Love is Gone”. However, in order to
create the guitar “twang” sequence of “I Gotta Feeling”, I used a different preset from the
PlugSound sound library, different musical notes and chords, and different sound
processing effects than the ones I used in “Love is Gone”.
7. To create the guitar “twang” sequence of “I Gotta Feeling”, I selected a guitar preset
called “Strat with SM57 Stereo Spread”1 from the PlugSound2 sound library, which
allowed me to use my keyboard to play music that seemed to come from an electric guitar.
After I selected the “Strat with SM57 Stereo Spread” preset, I composed each note and
each chord constituting the guitar “twang” sequence by playing them on my keyboard.

1

“Strat with SM57” refers to a preset recorded with a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar (the “Strat”
referred to in the name) and a SM57 microphone manufactured by Shure. “Stereo Spread” refers to
the fact that the right and left channels of the preset are slightly different, which produces a “stereo”
effect.
2
In my November 2010 declaration - which, from what I understood, had to be filed as soon as
possible in order to answer an urgent motion from Pringle - I mistakenly declared that I had used the
“Strat with SM57 Crunchy” preset for “I Gotta Feeling” and “Love is Gone”. Since the guitar
sequences for these two songs are somewhat similar, I (incorrectly) recalled having used the same
“Strat with SM57 Crunchy” guitar preset in “I Gotta Feeling” as the one I used in “Love is Gone”. It
was only later, when I reviewed my files, that I determined I had used a slightly different preset,
“Strat with SM57 Stereo Spread” in “I Gotta Feeling”.

DECLARATION OF
FREDERIC RIESTERER

NY982421.2
217131-10001

[signature]

2

Then, I applied sound “reverb” effects3 using PlugSound, sound equalization4 and sound
compression effects5 using LogicPro, and sound distortion effects using CamelPhat
software. The final result of this process was the guitar “twang” sequence that appears in
“I Gotta Feeling”.
8. I understand that Pringle suggested that I copied the guitar “twang” sequence that appears
in “I Gotta Feeling” from a music producer named Joachim Garraud. This is completely
untrue. Although it is correct that I have worked with Garraud in the past, including on the
song “Love is Gone”, I independently composed the guitar sequence that appears in “Love
is Gone”, without any contribution from Garraud. It was only after I completed a demo
version of “Love is Gone” that Garraud and Guetta participated by suggesting different
sounds for some of the musical sequences I had composed.
9. What is more, Garraud did not participate in any way in the creation of the music for “I
Gotta Feeling” and, as I explained above, I created the guitar “twang” sequence
independently in “I Gotta Feeling” by using a different guitar preset, different musical
notes and chords, and different sound processing effects than the ones I used in “Love is
Gone”.

I declare under penalty of perjury, under the law of the United States of America, that all the
above mentioned is true and correct.

Executed this day 9 of November 2011, in Paris, France.

[signature]
FREDERIC RIESTERER

3

Sound “reverb” effects (or “reverberation”) simulate the effect of a sound bouncing off a wall or
another surface before reaching the listener.
4
Sound “equalization” (or “EQ”) refers to the process consisting in adjusting the different frequencies
(like bass or treble) of an electronic sound to obtain a different esthetic effect.
5
Sound “compression” refers to the process consisting in balancing the volume of different sounds in
a recording by amplifying the volume of quiet sounds and reducing the volume of loud sounds.

DECLARATION OF
FREDERIC RIESTERER

NY982421.2
217131-10001

[signature]

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