Late last year, news emerged that Jay Z was facing a copyright infringement lawsuit over his 2009 single "Run This Town," which reportedly contained an uncleared sample of Eddie Bo's 1969 song "Hook & Sling Part 1." Now, further details about the claim have come to light.
According to documents turned up by TechDirt [via FACT], the entire case centres on a sample of the word "oh." Jay Z only uses the sample once in his song, and it lasts for a fraction of a second.
Documents filed by the defendants (Warner Bros., Roc Nation, Atlantic, Rock-A-Fella and Jay Z) against plaintiff TufAmerica rather sarcastically argue, "Plaintiff apparently believes that it has a monopoly on the use of the word 'oh' and that it can stop others from using this word in recorded form. Even if one short word — or the recording thereof — could possibly be deemed original enough to warrant copyright protection, this fleeting and generic phrase is neither quantitatively nor qualitatively significant."
Hear "Run This Town" below.
This isn't the first time TufAmerica has got litigious over "Hook & Sling Part 1." In 2012, it accused Kanye West of misusing his licence to sample the song on 2010's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. TufAmerica has also set its sights on the likes of Frank Ocean and Beastie Boys over copyright issues.
Meanwhile, reports have begun to spread that Hova is working on a collaborative album with his wife Beyoncé. The news was originally reported by DJ Skee from DASH Radio.
According to documents turned up by TechDirt [via FACT], the entire case centres on a sample of the word "oh." Jay Z only uses the sample once in his song, and it lasts for a fraction of a second.
Documents filed by the defendants (Warner Bros., Roc Nation, Atlantic, Rock-A-Fella and Jay Z) against plaintiff TufAmerica rather sarcastically argue, "Plaintiff apparently believes that it has a monopoly on the use of the word 'oh' and that it can stop others from using this word in recorded form. Even if one short word — or the recording thereof — could possibly be deemed original enough to warrant copyright protection, this fleeting and generic phrase is neither quantitatively nor qualitatively significant."
Hear "Run This Town" below.
This isn't the first time TufAmerica has got litigious over "Hook & Sling Part 1." In 2012, it accused Kanye West of misusing his licence to sample the song on 2010's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. TufAmerica has also set its sights on the likes of Frank Ocean and Beastie Boys over copyright issues.
Meanwhile, reports have begun to spread that Hova is working on a collaborative album with his wife Beyoncé. The news was originally reported by DJ Skee from DASH Radio.
