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Kanye West Faces Copyright Infringement Lawsuit
Author: Scarinci Hollenbeck, LLC
Date: April 12, 2013
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American rapper Kanye West is well-known for a number of reasons that have little to do with his music, but a recent lawsuit may put the spotlight back on a 2005 hit song for which West is facing legal action for copyright infringement.
Siblings Trena Steward and Lorenzo Pryor are suing the superstar for copyright infringement, alleging that lyrics from No. 1 hit single “Gold Digger” were taken from their father David Pryor’s song “Bumping Bus Stop,” performed by the band Thunder and Lightning headed by Pryor in 1974. Specifically, Steward and Pryor drew a parallel between the lyrics “get down girl, go ‘head, get down,” which also appeared in their father’s tune and was similarly repeated three times in both tracks.
Steward and Pryor are seeking $150,000 in damages as well as attorneys fees for the alleged breach of entertainment law, according to Entertainment Wise. West has yet to comment on the lawsuit.
In addition to West, a string of record labels are named in the suit, including Roc-a-Fella Records, Bad Boy Records, Stones Throw Records, Bomb Hip-Hop Records, Autumn Games, Activision, Caroline Distribution and Island Def Jam Music Group, the Huffington Post reports. The copyright infringement lawsuit is one of several that West has faced in recent years.
- Industries: Entertainment & Media
- Practices: Copyright
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