Jay Z's Big Pimpin' lawsuit rolling on into 2014
A copyright infringement lawsuit surrounding Jay Z's hit song Big Pimpin' is set to rumble on into 2014 after a California judge refused to dismiss the six-year case.
The rapper was slapped with legal action in 2007 from Osama Ahmed Fahmy, amid allegations the 2000 track violates the plaintiff's rights to his uncle Baligh Hamdy's composition Khosara, Khosara, which was released in 1957.
Jay-Z's record label bosses at EMI argued that Big Pimpin' was
protected under a licensing agreement they had made with bosses at
Egyptian firm Sout El Phan, which previously co-owned the copyright
to Khosara, Khosara, prompting a Los Angeles judge to issue a
summary judgement in their favor in 2011.
However, that deal expired in 2006, and now District Judge
Christina Snyder has granted Fahmy until March (14) to conduct
further research into case, to determine whether the defendants had
wilfully broken copyright law after the licensing period had
ended.
If he is able to prove the violations, Jay Z and his label bosses
will be liable for copyright infringement, according to The
Hollywood Reporter.