Jay Z wants sound engineer's copyright ownership case dismissed

Jay Z is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit from a sound engineer seeking credit for work he allegedly carried out on the hip-hop superstar's Roc-A-Fella Records label more than 14 years ago.

Chauncey Mahan launched legal action in July (14), claiming he should be named a co-owner of the copyright of six Jay Z albums, including 1999's Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter and 2000's The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, because he was allegedly key to creating the sounds of the releases.

His lawsuit was filed three months after the producer allegedly tried to extort money from Jay Z's representatives in exchange for a number of the rapper's master recordings, which were presumed lost after going missing in 2002.

Mahan was not arrested, but was questioned over the ownership of the masters, which were taken away for safe keeping until the dispute could be determined.

Jay Z and his associates subsequently dropped the extortion complaint against Mahan, and now the 99 Problems hitmaker insists the lawsuit is another attempt to grab cash he is not entitled to.

In his legal challenge, the rapper's lawyer writes, "After 14 years of silence, Petitioner's claims (and his attempt to use the federal courts as part of his shakedown scheme) are outrageous and wholly without merit."

The suit continues, "More significantly, for purposes of this Motion, the claims are plainly barred by the three-year statute of limitations contained in the Copyright Act, and have been for more than a decade."