In honor of the end of the semester coming up, and final projects and papers being due soon! I wanted to remind you all that copy write infringement is very real, and you can be sued and/or taken to jail. To make things plain here's a reflection article of a lawsuit with hip-hop mogul Shawn Carter (Jay-Z) that i read upon.
Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi nephew files a copyright infringement lawsuit against well-known American rapper Jay-Z and hit music producer Timbaland (Timothy Mosley) in 2007. Hamdi composed “Khosara Khosara” in 1957, claims that Hamdi’s song is being used in Jay-Z’s hit 1999 song “Big Pimpin’.” As of October 22,2015 U.S. District Judge Christina A. Synder ruled that Egyptian composer Hamdi’s nephew, according to Anthony McCartney (2015) “did not have the right to pursue a copyright infringement claim.” Judge Snyder dismissed the copyright infringement case filed by Osama Ahmed Fahmy against Shawn Carter (Jay-Z). According to Huffpost Black Voices and Anthony McCartney, “Timbaland paid $100,000 in 2001 to settle a claim about usage of Khosara Khosara; Hamdi wrote the song for a 1957 film. According to Randy Lewis and the LA Times (Los Angeles Times), Carter and Mosley both testified in court that they had sought and received permission to use the flute notes from “Khosara Khosara.” Therefore Fahmy did not have a valid case against the two musicians.
For those who may read this and do not understand what exactly what copyright and copyright infringement is I will now take the proper time to define each of these terms. Copyright is the exclusive legal right which is given to the creator or originator to publish and perform. Copyright infringement is used to protect works thru the copyright law without permission. Copyright allows those who produce and create something of their own to protect their product, most works qualify for copyright.
Clearly Fahmy did not use all his resources and doing his research before he filed this suit. It is my belief that if he did his proper research he would have noticed that Carter and Mosley received the proper permission to use the flute notes from his uncle’s song. I also believe that Fahmy was just trying to shake these two well-known artists down for some of their money. It’s to my knowledge that Fahmy still has $100,000 from Mosley, even though Mosley did not have to give that to him. Andrew Bart, Carter’s attorney stated “My client is pleased with and gratified by the decision.” Basically the whole problem for Osama Ahmed Fahmy, who is the heir and nephew to Baligh Hamdi, is that artist Jay-Z and Timbaland used flute notes from Hamdi’s 1957 in their 1999 hit record “Big Pimpin.” One question that I have that is not answered is why wait 8 years to file a law suit against these artist?
