Accusations of plagiarism were waged against the German 2008 entry by a German radio station. NDR has now issued a press release in which they totally deny that any evidence exists that proves this argument.
The story has been picked up by many news outlets in Germany and so NDR has felt it necessary to totally refute any accusations of plagiarism. There are three main rebuttals in their press release. The first is that the music for the song ‘Disappear’ was first written in January 2006 and so would out date the song ‘Break the silence’ by Steffi List which was publicly aired on the 10th of January this year.
The second point on which NDR discredits the allegation is that there is no actual plaintiff that feels they have been the victimised by the plagiarism of their intellectual property. The two artists involved are both on the Universal label so NDR feels that there is no problem in that regard.
The final point that NDR brings to light is the fact that independent consultants have confirmed that the similarities in the song do not constitute plagiarism. Ralf Quibeldey from NDR’s entertainment department said "We are persuaded that the song ‘Disappear’ of the group ‘No Angels’ in all points complies with the guidelines of the EBU for the Eurovision Song Contest and is not plagiarism. We are glad that No Angels, internationally known stars, line up for Germany in Belgrade, and keep our fingers crossed for them."
