Guns N' Roses [ tickets ] have been sued by two independent record labels that are claiming the band used portions of two songs by German musician Ulrich Schnauss on their latest album, "Chinese Democracy," according to a Billboard report.

GNR and Universal Music Group's Interscope-Geffen A&M label were sued for $1 million by British label Independiente and the US arm of Domino Recording Company, who owns the licensing rights to Schnauss' songs.

The labels are claiming that Axl Rose, GNR band members and album producers copied portions of two of Schnauss' songs, "Wherever Your Are" and "A Strangely Isolated Place," for the GNR song "Riad N' the Bedouins."

The other band members named in the suit include Brian "Buckethead" Carroll, Tommy Stinson and Robin Finck.

In a statement, GNR manager Irving Azoff said the band vigorously contests the claims. "The band believed when the record came out and still believes that there are no unauthorized samples on the track," he said. "The snippets of 'ambient noise' in question were provided by a member of the album's production team who has assured us that these few seconds of sound were obtained legitimately. Artists these days can't read the minds of those they collaborate with and therefore are unfortunately vulnerable to claims like this one."

Azoff said the band resents the implication that they would ever use another artist's work improperly and are assessing possible counterclaims. He said GNR is confident the situation will be satisfactorily resolved, adding that legal representatives of the band and production team soon would be responding formally to the suit.