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 U.S. District Court Judge Christina A. Snyder ruled that the
plaintiff in the case, a nephew of late musician Baligh Hamdy,
did not have standing to assert copyright infringement of his
uncle's music, Jay Z's attorney Andrew Bart said.
Hamdy's nephew, Osama Ahmed Fahmy, filed a complaint in 2007
alleging that Jay Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, and his
team had used his uncle's 1957 song "Khosara, Khosara" without
permission.
"Our client is pleased with and feels vindicated by the
decision," Bart said in a statement.
Snyder's decision came after three days of trial testimony.
"We disagree strongly with the ruling and intend to appeal,"
Keith Wesley, a lawyer representing Fahmy, said in a statement.
Jay Z testified at the trial last week, telling the eight-member
jury that acquiring rights to songs was not his responsibility.
Hip hop producer Tim 'Timbaland' Mosley said he believed Hamdy's
track was license free, but once he learned of the complaint, he
paid $100,000 to EMI Music Arabia to acquire the rights.
[to top of second column] |
Attorney Peter Ross, representing Fahmy, had told the jury that Jay
Z and his producers purposefully avoided asking for permission to
use Hamdy's melody.
But attorney Christine Lepera, representing Timbaland and other
defendants named in the complaint including Vivendi's Universal
Music Group and Viacom Inc's MTV, said the court ruling was clear.
"The court correctly ruled that the Plaintiff had no right to bring
this case and cannot pursue any claim of infringement in connection
with 'Big Pimpin'' whatsoever," Lepera said in a statement.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Tom Brown)
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