Copyright Lawsuit Against Jay-Z And Others Has Been Dismissed

Jay-Z has secured another win!

Jay-Z along with producer Timbaland, and singer Ginuwine, had a copyright lawsuit that was brought against them dismissed by a Manhattan federal judge. The three of them were being sued by musician Ernie Hines, who accused them of unlawfully sampling ones of his songs from 1969.

Reports state that the U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken found that Jay-Z’s “Paper Chase” and Ginuwine’s “Toe 2 Toe,” which were both produced by Timbaland, didn’t violate the rights of Hines in his song, “Help Me Put Out The Flame (In My Heart)”.

Ernie Hines’ attorney has not released a statement about the judge’s decision and the representative for Warner Music group declined to give a comment. The lawsuit was first brought up in 2019, stating that both songs copied the introduction part of his song.

However, the defendants argued that the part that Hines is referring to wasn’t copyright eligible because it was considered as a stock musical phrase from the 1914 song, “Mysterioso Pizzicato.” The phrase has allegedly been used in over 20 other songs.

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