Did Coldplay rip off Joe Satriani?

American rock guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani is suing Coldplay, claiming that the title track from the Britpop band's 2008 album Viva La Vida "copied and incorporated substantial original portions" of his 2004 track "If I Could Fly". Hmmm...Coldplay stealing from Satch? When I first heard this, I thought it sounded almost as unlikely as, say, Avril Lavigne ripping off the Rubinoos. It is hardly uncommon for two songs to resemble each other purely by coincidence. In fact, Coldplay were already accused of stealing that song's melody from an obscure Brooklyn band called Creaky Boards. But this clever YouTube video supports Satriani's claim quite well:



Maybe Coldplay should have asked Satch's permission to sample it. Just kidding. In any case, the plagiarism-or-coincidence argument may boil down to this question: How likely is it that Coldplay listen to Joe Satriani?