LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — A U.S. District Court judge in Los Angeles has dismissed a copyright infringment lawsuit brought against rappers Jay Z and Timbaland over samples used in Jay Z's 2000 hit single "Big Pimpin'."
Osama Ahmed Fahmym brought the suit against Jay Z in 2007, alleging that he had used elements of the 1957 song “Khosara Khosara” composed by Fahmym's uncle Baligh Hamdi without permission.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Judge Christina A. Snyder did not weigh the merits of the case in her decision to dismiss, but instead determined that Fahmym did not hold the copyright to the music.
Robert Jacobs, a partner and co-chair of entertainment and media litigation at L.A.-based Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, said Wednesday, “The judge’s decision, which is still forthcoming, will clarify this further, but from what I’m understanding went on, the judge came to understand that the claim was not a traditional copyright infringement claim, but was a moral rights claim, and under U.S. law [such claims] are limited …. It doesn’t apply to music.”
Following the decision Fahmym’s lawyer, Pete Ross, told the Los Angeles Times, “We think it’s completely wrong, and we’ll appeal.” – Staff Writers
