Simon Cowell's record company Syco has been accused of lying about claims that Leona Lewis plagiarised the work of a Ministry of Sound artist.
The X Factor winner unveiled new single 'Collide' on Friday, which just hours later was noted as sounding "identical" to the song 'Fade Into Darkness' by Swedish DJ Avicii, better known as Tim Berg.
Ministry of Sound threatened to sue Cowell over the track, but Syco responded by claiming that "there is zero legal case to answer", as the dance artist's contribution has already been recognised.
"Avicii is already credited as a songwriter on Leona's song," a representative said. "It's a case of sour grapes from Ministry of Sound."
However, Avicii hit back at Syco's assertions on Twitter last night, writing: "To answer everyone, the first time I heard Leona Lewis 'Collide' was today. I didn't produce it and neither me or my manager could approve it.
"I'm just upset for someone taking credit of our idea before I had a chance to release itâ€¦ And for the time and effort that has been put into this by my manager and label."
His manager Ash Pournouri added in a statement: "We never got to hear ['Collide'] before it was promoted on radio, how could we clear anything? We're not amateurs - we don't sign papers without knowing what [we're] getting into."
The production of 'Collide' has been credited to Sandy Vee, who previously worked on Rihanna's 'Only Girl (in the World)', David Guetta's 'Where Them Girls At' and Alexis Jordan's 'Good Girl'.
Listen to Leona Lewis's 'Collide' and Avicii's 'Fade Into Darkness' (formerly known as 'Penguin') below.