British superstars Coldplay have spoken out about the plagiarism claims directed at the group by guitarist Joe Satriani, who says the rockers copied his song “If I Could Fly” in their track “Vida La Vida”.

“With the greatest possible respect to Joe Satriani, we have now unfortunately found it necessary to respond publicly to his allegations,” reads a statement from the band. “If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him. Joe Satriani is a great musician, but he did not write the song ‘Viva La Vida.’ We respectfully ask him to accept our assurances of this and wish him well with all future endeavours.”

Satriani’s lawyer, Howard E. King, says it’s a far cry from the way his client was treated before they were served with the lawsuit. “We attempted to have a dialogue on this before we went public,” King reckons. “We felt almost forced to file suit. As far as the ‘coincidence,’ ultimately that’s for a jury to decide.”