The 18th Civil Chamber of the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice annulled a sentence that had extinguished the lawsuit filed by Ricardo Garcia and Kiko Freitas against Seu Jorge, ordering the continuation of the action for improper appropriation of musical composition credits. The dispute involves hits like the song 'Carolina', inspired by lawyer Carolina Corrêa, who never had a romantic relationship with the singer. The plaintiffs claim the songs were created in partnership in Brasília in the early 2000s but released under Seu Jorge's name without proper attribution.
Carolina Corrêa, the muse of the song of the same name performed by Seu Jorge on the album Samba Esporte Fino, detailed in an interview with Claudia Meireles column from Metrópoles the origin of the composition. The Brasília lawyer was dating drummer and composer Ricardo Garcia in the early 2000s when the song was written. 'We had only a few months of relationship when he wrote this song,' she recalls. Ricardo joined Kiko Freitas, from the Blue Records producer in Brasília, for a musical project. The connection with Seu Jorge happened through manager Danusa Carvalho, who handled the band Farofa Carioca, in 1999.
The composition of 'Carolina' was based on a guitar melody recorded by Rodrigo and his father, with lyrics adjusted by Ricardo. Seu Jorge recorded vocals for the CD Gafieira S.A., which was never released. However, in 2001, Kiko Freitas discovered the performance of the track on Multishow, credited only to Seu Jorge. 'We couldn't believe someone would do that. It was quite shocking,' said Carolina, who was still dating Ricardo at the time.
The lawsuit began in 2003, with extrajudicial notifications failing as Seu Jorge could not be located. Recently, the unanimous judges ordered hearing witnesses, expertise, and depositions to avoid denial of defense. Ricardo Garcia hopes 'justice be done,' comparing it to the 2023 case where Seu Jorge was ordered to pay R$ 121,000 to Mário Lago's heirs for unauthorized use of excerpts in 'Mania de Peitão'.
Lawyer Scott Rocco Dezorzi, a specialist in intellectual property, explains that the Copyright Law (Law No. 9.610/98) protects works automatically upon creation, without needing registration, covering moral and patrimonial rights. The authors can seek authorship recognition, credit correction, and compensation, with evidence like recordings and testimonies. Seu Jorge's team did not respond to the report's contacts.
