Iconic rapper Jay-Z may have 99 problems, but a lawsuit ain’t one. Earlier this week, a Manhattan federal judge dismissed a copyright lawsuit filed against Hov, producer Timbaland, and singer Ginuwine by soul artist Ernie Hines.
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Reuters reports that Hines initially filed the lawsuit against the artists and producer in 2019. In the suit, he alleged that Jay-Z’s 1998 track “Paper Chase” and Ginuwine’s song “Toe 2 Toe” from 1999 illegally sampled Hines’ 1969 song “Help Me Put Out the Flame (In My Heart).” Timbaland co-wrote and produced both tracks.
More specifically, Hines alleged that Timbaland illegally sampled the intro guitar riff from his 1969 song. The defendants stated that the riff in question was not eligible for copyright because it was an interpolation of a 1914 public domain work titled “Mysterioso Pizzicato.” The original piece of music has become synonymous with villains in film and TV. Additionally, it has been used in nearly 30 other songs.
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Hines originally wanted $2 million in compensation for the alleged infringement. Casting a wide net, the soul singer named Jay-Z’s record label Roc-A-Fella Records, Def Jam Recordings, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Holdings Inc. He also named Hov, Genuwine, and Timbaland personally, per Music Business Worldwide.
On September 25, U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken dismissed the lawsuit. In his ruling, he stated that neither “Paper Chase” nor “Toe 2 Toe” violated Hines’ copyright. Oetken further stated that Hines’ song “borrows from a heavily used work that is in the public domain.” He added that Hines only added “material that is not original enough to be copyrightable.”
However, even if Hines was able to copyright the intro riff, it wouldn’t have mattered. Judge Oetken went on to state that the pertinent parts of Ginuwine and Jay-Z’s songs were not close enough to Hines’ track to show infringement.
The judge cited the public domain status of the original piece and Hines’ “minimal additions” to it in his ruling. He added that “no reasonable jury” would find that Jay-Z and his co-defendants were guilty of copyright infringement.
Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation
