Rick Ross Appeals Judge’s Decision to Dismiss Copyright Lawsuit Against LMFAO
In 2016, a judge dismissed Rick Ross' copyright lawsuit against LMFAO, but Rozay isn't going down without a fight. According to the Miami Herald, the rapper appealed the judge's decision last Wednesday (Nov. 15).
Rozay originally filed the lawsuit, which claims the Los Angeles electronic duo's "Party Rock Anthem" has similarities to his breakout Port of Miami single, "Hustlin.'" Back in April 2016, the judge ruled that Rozay's copyright registrations for "Hustlin'" had so many errors that they were invalid. Without valid registrations, a lawsuit can't be filed in a federal court. Last week, the MMG boss argued that his copyright registrations were valid despite the errors because there wasn't any evidence of "intentional fraud or concealment."
Just in case you don't remember, LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" features the phrase, "Everyday I'm shufflin," which is (or appears to be) a parody of the hook for Rozay's song, "Hustlin,'" which goes, "Everyday I'm hustlin." LMFAO, a duo comprised of Uncle Redfoo and Nephew SkyBlu, also used their phrase for merch.
Although there are obvious similarities with the two phrases, the judge ruled that Rozay's hook was a mostly inextricable part of the hip-hop vernacular, thus, not really capable of being copyrighted.
“Even if the phrase ‘everyday I’m hustlin’’ were copyrightable, plaintiffs still fail the intrinsic test,” she wrote in her 2015 ruling. “The average lay observer would not confuse T-shirts bearing the phrase ‘everyday I’m shufflin’’ with the musical composition ‘Hustlin'’’ nor, without reference to ‘Party Rock Anthem’ and ‘Hustlin’’ would an average lay observer recognize the merchandise as having been appropriated from ‘Hustlin.’”
There's no telling how this one will play out, but it's clear Ross isn't giving up.
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