Legal
Ed Sheeran Awaits Verdict in ‘Shape of You’ Copyright Court Battle
An 11-day trial over the copyright of Ed Sheeran’s hit song “Shape of You” concluded in London on Tuesday (March 22), with the judge saying he would take some time to consider his ruling. The British pop star and his co-writers, Snow Patrol’s John McDaid and producer Steven McCutcheon, deny accusations that the 2017 song copies part of a 2015 song called “Oh Why” by Sami Chokri, who performs under the name Sami Switch. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Lawyer Andrew Sutcliffe, representing the “Oh Why” co-writers, argued there was an “indisputable similarity between the works” and suggested the chances of two songs that “correlate” appearing within months of each other was “minutely small.” The lawyer claimed that Sheeran had “Oh Why” “consciously or unconsciously in his head” whe...
50 Cent Can’t Avoid Rémy Martin’s Copycat Cognac Lawsuit
50 Cent is headed toward a trial in a federal lawsuit that claims his Branson brand of cognac copied the design of Rémy Martin’s bottle after a Manhattan federal judge refused to dismiss the case. E. Rémy Martin & Co. sued in August, claiming the rapper’s liquor brand infringed patent and trade dress rights by mimicking Rémy ’s XO bottle. 50 Cent’s company, Sire Spirits, fired back in October, calling the case “meritless” and accusing the spirits company of trying to “destroy a competitor.” But in two recent rulings – one in January and another on Tuesday (March 22) – U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein denied Sire’s motion to dismiss the case at the outset. The decisions mean 50 Cent is headed for a long legal fight, including exchanges of evidence and potentially a jury trial. “...
The Legal Beat: Why Is Rap Music Still On Trial?
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings, and all the fun stuff in between. This week: A deep dive into how prosecutors are still using rap lyrics to convict the artists who wrote them; a bold new argument centered on “teetotaling” in the Prince estate’s fight against ‘Purple Rain’ wine; a big copyright settlement for Lizzo after years of litigation over her smash hit ‘Truth Hurts,’ and more. THE BIG STORY: Why Are Rap Lyrics Still Cited In Court? “It made absolutely no sense,” Ezra Rosenberg told me, speaking about the 2008 murder conviction of a New Jersey man named Vonte Skinner. Rosenberg, an attorney who worked with the ACLU on Skinner’s case, was specifically talking about t...
Rap Lyrics Are Still Cited in Court, But That Might Be About to Change
When Vonte Skinner stood trial in New Jersey in 2008 for a drug-related shooting that he claimed he did not commit, a detective read to jurors at length from a book of amateur rap lyrics discovered in Skinner’s car the night of the crime. They referenced bloodshed and violence and death – but they weren’t connected to the actual facts of the case. Skinner was later found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison. “It made absolutely no sense,” says Ezra Rosenberg, an attorney who worked with the American Civil Liberties Union on Skinner’s appeal. “This was a guy who was convicted of an extraordinarily serious crime based on evidence that included his rap lyrics, when there was nothing in them that was connected in any way to the crime he was convicted of.” Years later, prosecutors are sti...
Travis Scott, Astroworld Victims Battle in Court Over Rapper’s Charity Initiative
Attorneys for Astroworld victims are duking it out in Houston court with attorneys for Travis Scott, in a battle revolving around whether the star himself should be subject to a gag order that’s been imposed on lawyers working on the massive case. Lawyers for the family of a young boy killed at the festival say Scott is using the media – specifically the launch of a charitable initiative called Project HEAL, which was announced on Tuesday (March 8) – to try to win favor with potential jurors. Scott’s lawyers say his philanthropy is genuine and that adding him to the gag order would violate his right to free speech. Explore See latest videos, charts and news In the latest filing on Friday (March 11), attorneys for the 9-year-old victim, Ezra Blount, said Scott must be prevented from carryin...
Jussie Smollett Sentenced to 150 Days in Jail for Staged Attack
Jussie Smollett was sentenced Thursday (March 10) to 150 days in jail for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack that the former Empire actor orchestrated himself. Cook County Judge James Linn sentenced Smollett to 30 months of felony probation, including 150 days in the county jail. Linn denied a request to suspend Smollett’s sentence and ordered he be placed in custody immediately. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Smollett was also ordered to pay $120,106 in restitution. Smollett loudly proclaimed his innocence after the sentence. “I am innocent. I could have said I am guilty a long time ago,” Smollett shouted as sheriff’s deputies led him out of the courtroom, capping an hourslong sentencing hearing. Ahead of his sentencing, Smollett declined to make a statement ...
Eagles of Death Metal’s Jesse Hughes Details Legal Battle Over Fiancee Tuesday Cross’ Life: ‘She Deserves to Live’
“The love of my life is going to die.” Jesse Hughes, the frontman for Eagles of Death Metal, lifts his head a few inches. Tears run down his cheeks into his handlebar mustache and beard. He drags on a cigarette. “I believe the hospital wants to end her life,” he says, shaking his head. “She deserves to live.” A few blocks away from Hughes’ home, in a private room in the intensive care unit of Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital, about a 20-minute drive from Los Angeles, Hughes’ fiancée, 31-year-old Marina Cardenas — better known as EODM’s bassist and keyboardist Tuesday Cross — lies comatose. She has been in a vegetative state for approximately six weeks since an asthma attack sent her into cardiac arrest, and it has been more than a month since Hughes has seen or communicated with h...
Ed Sheeran Sings In London Court to Defend His Authorship of ‘Shape Of You’
LONDON — Ed Sheeran sang a brief burst of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good” in London’s High Court on Tuesday (March 8), while giving evidence in a copyright trial over one of his biggest hits. Sheeran is in a legal dispute with songwriters Sami Chokri, who performs under the name Sami Switch, and Ross O’Donoghue over Sheeran’s 2017 hit single “Shape of You.” Chokri and O’Donoghue argue that the global hit lifts “particular lines and phrases” from their 2015 single “Oh Why” – allegations denied by Sheeran and “Shape of You” co-writers Steven McCutcheon, better known as Steve Mac, and John McDaid. Giving evidence for a second day in a trial expected to last up to three weeks, Sheeran sang parts of “Feeling Good” and his 2013 single “I See Fire,” as well as the “Oh I, Oh I, Oh I” chorus hook from...
Supreme Court Won’t Review Decision That Freed Bill Cosby
The U.S. Supreme Court quietly announced Monday that it would not review Bill Cosby’s sexual assault case, leaving him a free man and ending a two-decade legal drama that shifted the cultural landscape, destroyed the groundbreaking Black actor’s reputation, and sent him to prison for several years late in life. The high court, without comment, declined to review a stunning decision out of Pennsylvania that released Cosby from prison in June over the word of a former prosecutor who said he had made a secret promise to Cosby’s lawyers that he would never be charged. A Cosby spokesperson expressed “sincere gratitude to the justices” on behalf of Cosby and his family for the announcement and said he was the victim of “a reprehensible bait and switch” by the district attorney and judge in the c...
‘Do The Right Thing Here’: Primary Wave Supports Morris Day in Prince Estate Feud
Days after the Prince estate sparked outrage by moving to block longtime collaborator Morris Day from using his band name “The Time,” the people who will soon take over control of the estate say they fully support Day’s right to keep using his name. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The controversial move, which prompted Day to complain on social media that the estate was “taking my name away from me,” was instigated by Comerica — a bank that has been serving as the court-appointed administrator of Prince’s assets during a years-long legal battle. But those proceedings are nearly complete and set to wrap up later this year, and the groups of heirs that will soon take control of the estate are now speaking out in Day’s favor. Primary Wave, a promi...
Endeavor Sued For Allegedly Stealing Marketing Ideas for IPO Effort
A consultant is suing Endeavor claiming he gave the company the blueprint to salvage its debut on the public market, which led to a successful $10.3 billion IPO, but he wasn’t compensated or given credit. David Carde began his complaint, which was filed Thursday in L.A. County Superior Court, by comparing this alleged theft to when the founders of Endeavor left ICM in 1995 and in the middle of the night “stole a bunch of client files and stuffed them into a SUV parked by a freight elevator.” “Following the embarrassment of the failed first IPO, Endeavor’s crushing debt became an existential threat after the COVID pandemic ground the Company’s business to a halt,” reads the complaint, which is embedded below. “However, once Endeavor stole and then embraced Mr. Carde’s approach of communicat...
Prince Estate Told Morris Day He Could Not Use ‘Time’ Band Name, Docs Show
Attorneys for the Prince estate sent a letter warning longtime collaborator Morris Day that he could not use the name of his band The Time “in any form,” according to documents obtained by Billboard — sparking a sharp response on Thursday (March 3) in which Day accused the estate of trying to “rewrite history.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Day, the lead singer for the Prince-affiliated funk band The Time, claimed in a social media post Thursday that the Prince estate had told him he could no longer use the name “Morris Day and The Time.” He said he had “spent 40 years of my life” building the name and that Prince had “no problem” with him using it. “Now that Prince is no longer with us, suddenly, the people who control his multi million doll...
