Pop star Britney Spears and her recording and publishing companies have been sued by two musicians claiming two of her songs were copied from their tune.

Michael Cottrill and Lawrence Wnukowski from Philadelphia filed a copyright case against Spears, Zomba Recording Corp, Jive Records, Wright Entertainment Group and BMG Music Publishing.

According to Mr Cottrill and Mr Wnukowski, Spears' What U See (Is What U Get) and Can't Make You Love Me are "virtually identical" to one of their songs.

A spokesperson from Spears' record label in the UK, Jive, was unable to comment on the case on Wednesday.

The two tracks in dispute are on Spears' best-selling second album Oops! ... I Did it Again.

Rejection

Mr Cottrill and Mr Wnukowski claim that in 1999 they authored, recorded and copyrighted a song called What You See Is What You Get.

They say this song was submitted to one of Spears' representatives for consideration on a future album.

It was rejected, they say, but add that Spears' What U See (Is What U Get) and Can't Make You Love Me are based on their tune.

Last week, Mr Cottrill told the Philadelphia Daily News: "More than anything, we want the recognition that we wrote a good tune.

"We were hoping this was 'the' hit for us, a really well-done tune."

The notes for Oops! ... I Did it Again credit both songs to several writers and producers at Cheiron Studios in Sweden.

Cheiron wrote hits for the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync and Celine Dion.

Oops! ... I Did It Again was released in May 2000, following the success of Spears' debut album Baby, One More Time from 1999.

Her third album Britney was released in 2001.