Is ‘Girlfriend’ really ‘Boyfriend’?

Suffice it to say the ‘70s rock band the Rubinoos doesn’t think Avril Lavigne is “the best damn thing.” Band members are claiming the bubblegum diva’s international smash hit “Girlfriend” rips off one of their most famous songs.

Songwriters James Gangwer and Tommy Dunbar, a Rubinoos founding member, filed suit in a U.S. District Court on Thursday charging Lavigne and her co-writers with copyright infringement and copying their 1979 song “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” without permission.

“It’s the exact same meter and chord progression as our song,” said the Rubinoos’ lead singer Jon Rubin, who is not a part of the lawsuit. “Then it gets to the last line and it’s the same lyrics. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know the songs are the same.”

Videos comparing “Girlfriend” to “Boyfriend” currently rank among the most popular offerings on YouTube. By Friday, more than half a million people had viewed dozens of clips that emphasize the similarities.

“Girlfriend,” off Lavigne’s platinum-selling album “The Best Damn Thing,” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart. The pop princess also topped charts worldwide after recording the song in Spanish, Mandarin, Italian, Japanese, French, Portuguese and German.

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Chris Lee