iHipHop AdminBy: Rizoh
50 Cent emerged victorious last Friday, as a Miami federal judge dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit accusing 50 of stealing the opening line for his 2003 smash "In Da Club" from a song by former 2 Live Crew frontman Luther Campbell.
According to The Miami Herald, U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck adjudged that the disputed phrase was a "common, unoriginal, and noncopyrightable element of the song" and was not liable to copyright protection.
Judge Huck also ruled that there are no real similarities between the two songs, and the phrase in question ("Go shorty, it’s your birthday") represents only eleven seconds of a three-minute song. "No reasonable jury would conclude that the compositions have substantial similarities and the average person would not confuse the two songs," the judge stated.
Luke Campbell’s song, "It’s Your Birthday," was featured on his 1994 solo disc Still a Freak for Life.
Congrats to fiddy…although money can blind it’s good to see hip hop’s rules of regulating “borrowing” (come on it’s a culture that thrives on it) being upheld in the courts.
“play on…player”
That was a dumb case. Lol. He didnt Steal any lyrics.