Intellectual property rights, copyright infringement and the essence of authorship and artistic license have become increasingly murky areas. Like so many other instances involving the blurring of ethical lines, this one can be traced back to –yup, you guessed it –the explosion of the Internet.

Sound-recording technology has arrived at a new plateau and almost anyone with a modicum of talent can make a record in their office, basement, or wherever they keep their computer. Samples, the core ingredient of hip-hop and rap, are readily available to anyone looking for them.

Kid Rock, like Puff Daddy and Kanye West and so many others before him, grabbed himself a huge hit this year by essentially mixing together two songs –Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” –and then rapping over the top of the combo track. Check the liner notes on the Kid’s “All Summer Long,” and you’ll note that the rapper gave himself a songwriting credit for the tune.

Last week, in the midst of all of this, came one of the strangest copyright infringement lawsuits in the history of pop music. It involves renowned guitarist Joe Satriani –a virtuoso in the Steve Vai and Jeff Beck school of melodic guitar rock, who has released primarily instrumental music for the past two decades –and British alternative pop quartet Coldplay.

Satriani is seeking damages related to what he interprets as the lifting of “substantial original portions” from his 2004 instrumental “If I Could Fly” in Coldplay’s massive hit single “Viva la Vida.”

On Tuesday, Coldplay broke its silence over the issue, offering a gentle, polite, oh-so-English refutation of Satriani’s claim, praising the guitarist’s talent but clearly stating that Satch, as he’s known to fans, “did not write or have any influence on the song ‘Viva la Vida’.”

The Coldplay tune was nominated for several Grammys last week, one of which is the much coveted “Record of the Year” honor. The song is an international smash hit and has helped Coldplay’s album of the same name sell more than any other single collection this year.

I sat down this week and worked out both songs –on piano and guitar. Guess what? In my view, they are virtually identical: Same key. Same tempo. Just about the same melody line –Satriani’s played on guitar, Coldplay’s handled by singer Chris Martin.

Predictably, and hilariously, someone has produced a “mash up” of the two songs –Satriani’s guitar melody placed atop the Coldplay song on YouTube. It fits, absolutely seamlessly.

Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida” relies on a series of chords repeated as a mantra. The song begins on a D major 7 chord, proceeds to an E, then to the tonic, or “home chord,” A, and finally to the relative minor chord in the key, F# minor. It repeats this progression throughout the song, over a steady four beats-per- measure rhythm that is presented almost like a march. The melody line –which is completely sublime, in both the Coldplay and Satriani instances –begins on a C#, the major 7 of the D chord. If you happen upon this chord progression, the melody practically writes itself.

Above all of this, Coldplay has orchestrated a lush collection of cellos and various string sounds in service of what is essentially haunting, deeply inspired chamber- pop. There’s nary a distorted guitar within earshot, as opposed to Satriani’s mild boogie, which is all about the keening, heavily distorted electric guitar line.

It is doubtful that Coldplay, whose members are avowed disciples of U2 and Radiohead and whose music has about as much in common with Satriani’s guitar workouts as Anton Webern’s does with Miley Cyrus, listened to the guitarist for inspiration. Or even entertainment, for that matter. This whole thing appears to be a matter of complete coincidence.

Satriani cannot claim ownership of this particular chord progression –a common one in rock and pop, and one that suggests a particular scale of notes for melodic development and exploration –any more than Coldplay can. However, the similarities between the two pieces are uncanny. Maybe Coldplay should cut the guy a check. They can certainly afford it; it’s been a good year for the band.

There is a long history of plagiarism- related claims in popular music. Everyone steals, of course. That’s how one learns to write a song in the first place. This has been referred to in the past as the “folk process,” whereby an artist will take an old tune –sometimes one in the public domain –and write his own lyrics to fit it. Bob Dylan did this all the time.

Led Zeppelin borrowed some blues riffs from the masters who inspired them, turning them into great songs like “Whole Lotta Love” and “Bring It On Home.” The Rolling Stones have been rewriting Chuck Berry riffs for decades. This past summer, representatives for Cliff Richard claimed that Oasis had lifted bits of the pop idol’s 1976 hit “Devil Woman” for their own “The Turning.” Avril Lavigne settled out of court with ’70s band the Rubinoos, who claimed Lavigne lifted her “Girlfriend” from their “I Wanna Be YourBoyfriend.” (That one seemed really obvious.)

The Beatles’ George Harrison was sued by the Chiffons, who successfully convinced a court that their 1963 hit “He’s So Fine” was the direct, um, “inspiration” for Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord.”

For Satriani to win his lawsuit, he will have to prove that Coldplay listened to his song prior to writing their own. That’s going to be tough for him to do. I’m guessing that, when Chris Martin and his wife Gwyneth Paltrow have dinner parties, Satriani’s albums aren’t the chosen accompaniment. Of course, this can’t really be proven either.

When Paul McCartney wrote the evergreen “Yesterday,” he was convinced he’d stolen it from someone or somewhere. Legend has it that Macca woke up in the morning with the melody in his head, and it arrived in such a complete form, and seemed so obvious, that he was sure someone had already written it. No one has ever stepped forward to claim the song’s melody as their property, though.

In popular music, there are essentially 12 notes to choose from. Most pop writers use only a few of them. Inevitably, musicians will end up arriving at similar places. Add to this the fact that “composition” and “cut and paste” have become near synonyms in the current technological and cultural milieu, and you’ve got a deep and muddy river to traverse when it comes to ascertaining ownership.

Maybe Mick Jagger had the best solution. When he realized that the Rolling Stones’ “Anybody Seen My Baby?” employed the same chorus melody as kd lang’s “Constant Craving,” he simply gave her a writing credit alongside his own.

She was satisfied with the arrangement. Who wouldn’t be?