Not at all. Sam Smith "inadvertently" swiped "I Won't Back Down", there was a lawsuit, and now Tom Petty (and I believe Jeff Lynne) get somewriting credits and royalties on "Stay With Me". A just ending.
When I saw the answer my first thought was, "When did these guys do a remake of Rod Stewart's song?" I had to look it up to realize it was a different song.
I was going to argue that Rosanna was Toto's first chart-topper, but when I looked it up I saw it peaked at number 2 for five weeks. Never release a great song the same time that Survivor does Eye of the Tiger.
It's kind of dumb that the most popular House of the Rising Sun covers swap the gender of the main character, changing the coherence and weight of the story portrayed in the lyrics. Bob Dylan didn't do it though (among others)! So I think it should be "many a poor girl."
It's not though. The song is about someone wasting their life in a brothel and the implication is that the person is stuck there, so it makes more sense that it would be from the perspective of a prostitute who needs to stay there to earn a living than from a guy who just can't control himself.
I don't know anyone who has been to a brothel but I can think of all kinds of problems a man could have from regularly attending one, including drug addiction, disease, broken personal relationships, and financial problems. I think the song works either way.
I have an issue with the Teen Spirit one. The answer is totally unrelated to the song, it's just a coincidence that doesn't reflect any musical knowledge.