Washington, Dec 9 : Legendary guitarist Joe Satriani has accused rock band Coldplay for plagiarising one of his songs.

The 52-year-old veteran artist has filed a lawsuit at Los Angeles federal court against the band for their 2008 hit track Viva La Vida.

Satriani alleges that the Yellow hitmakers have copied segments from his 2004 instrumental If I Could Fly to use in their track.

He also said that he never intended to instigate a full-fledged legal battle - but was forced to after the group refused to address his concerns.

"Everybody assumes I''m trying to go after these guys in Coldplay, as if I''m doing this with malice - that''s the furthest thing from my mind,” Contactmusic quoted him as saying.

“I''m just doing what I need to do as an artist, to protect what''s mine, to protect those feelings I put down in song.

"I did everything I could to avoid a court case with this situation. But Coldplay didn''t want to talk about it. They just wanted this whole thing to go away.

“Maybe they figured this little guitar player guy will leave them alone after a while, I don''t know. But we''re talking about a piece of art that I created, and that''s something I feel is important," he added.

Satriani also insists that he was heartbroken after hearing the band had allegedly ripped off his tune.

"I felt like a dagger went right through my heart. It hurt so much. The second I heard it, I knew it was If I Could Fly,” he said.

"Almost immediately, from the minute their song came out, my e-mail box flooded with people going, ''Have you heard this song by Coldplay? They ripped you off man.'' Everybody noticed the similarities between the songs. It''s pretty obvious," he added. (ANI)