By: Antoinette Alston, contributing intern In 1999, Jay Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, released his hit song “Big Pimpin,” which catapulted his career. Now, some 16 years later Jay Z and producer Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley are defendants in a copyright lawsuit case. Osama Ahmed Fahmy, Hamdi’s nephew first filed a legal complaint back in 2007, but the case has just reached the courts. Mr. Fahmy said Jay Z allegedly used his uncle’s composition of his Egyptian 1957 hit song “Khosara, Khosara.” without getting proper permission from his uncle. Jay Z’s lawyer, Andrew Bart said in court on Tuesday (Oct. 13) the rapper had properly attained the rights to an Egyptian musician, the late Baligh Hamdi’s melody for the use of “Big Pimpin.” Mr. Fahmy’s attorney, Pete Ross, accused Jay Z of lacing vulgar lyrics over Hamdi’s beautiful melody; US District Court Judge Christina Snyder did not agree. Judge Snyder said Jay Z’s lyrics were not the issue of the case. Timbaland’s attorney, Christine Lepera, told the jury Timbaland initially used elements of Hamdi’s work believing it was royalty-free, but later the producers paid $100,000 to the record label to acquire the appropriate license. Mr. Fahmy said in defense the payment was insignificant and only Hamdi’s heirs could consent to a copy of the musician’s composition. The judge denied “Big Pimpin” utilized any major elements of Hamdi’s work, saying much of it was sample and not copyrighted. Ms. Lepera added Mr. Fahmy and his legal team was only making an “effort to get an undeserved income.” The trial will resume today Wednesday, October 14, 2015. So, stay tuned for updates. This is the second high-profile copyright case. The first being when a federal jury ruled Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams plagiarized Marvin Gaye’s 1977 hit song, “Got To Give It Up” to create their hit song “Blurred Lines.” Gaye’s family was initially awarded $7.4 million, but the verdict was then lowered to $5.3 million. Photo credit: Spin.com
