People are still suing Hov’ “Big Pimpin.'” On Wednesday, the nephew of a deceased Egyptian composer filed a new copyright infringement lawsuit against Live Nation.
Jay Z himself, as well as MTV, Paramount Pictures, Warner Music and others, are still involved in an eight-year-old case examining allegations that the song’s hook illicitly derives from “Khosara, Khosara” from the 1960 Egyption film Fata Ahlami. As that case proceeds, a new lawsuit was launched Wednesday that aims to hold Live Nation responsible for its part.
According to the complaint, “Big Pimpin'” has been mentioned regularly in Jay Z concert previews and a “substantial percentage of people who purchased tickets to Jay Z’s shows hoped he would perform Big Pimpin’, expected he would perform Big Pimpin’, and would have been disappointed if he had not performed Big Pimpin’. On information and belief, Live Nation has profited substantially from Jay Z’s performance of Big Pimpin’, including, but not limited to, profits from ticket sales, merchandise, parking, concessions, and other revenue streams.”
The latest legal action attempts to lay direct and contributory copyright liability on the concert-promotion giant.
“Live Nation knew that Big Pimpin’ infringed upon the Khosara, Khosara copyright, but it nevertheless continued to sponsor, promote, and facilitate Jay-Z’s performances of the infringing work,” states the lawsuit.
The epic litigation over “Big Pimpin’,” which originally came out in 2000, has refused to settle and has explored some interesting legal issues.
Leave a Reply