New York (CNN) — Bad Bunny and other big music industry stars are seeking to dismiss a lawsuit that claims copyright infringement on a 1989 song was infringed.
Lawyers from Freundlich Law, representing Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, better known as Bad Bunny, filed a motion last Thursday to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the musical elements in question are not protected by copyright.
The lawsuit, brought by lawyers for Jamaican reggae producers Steely & Clevie, alleges that more than 100 artists and record labels infringed the copyright on a beat in their song “Fish Market.”
For their part, Bad Bunny’s lawyers argue that the plaintiffs are trying to “monopolize for themselves practically the entire musical genre of reggaeton,” by claiming ownership of the copyrights to musical compositions sampled by more than 100 artists in more than 1,600 songs. . Bad Bunny himself is accused in the lawsuit of infringing the copyrights of 77 songs, according to the document.
The underlying drum rhythms come from Jamaican dancehall duo Steely & Clevie, consisting of Wycliffe Johnson and Cleveland Browne, who co-wrote “Fish Market” in 1989. The heavily sampled “dembow” rhythm comes from a song of the same name co-written with Shabba Ranks, which in turn takes from “Fish Market”. Johnson passed away in 2009.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2021.
Bad Bunny’s lawyers assert that the characteristics the plaintiffs cite, including rhythm, instrument choice, and synth sound parts and timbre, are the basic elements of the entire genre, and that the elements that would potentially be protected by copyright author, like the melody and lyrics, are not included in the plaintiffs’ case.
Another motion to dismiss the case was filed Thursday by the Pryor Cashman law firm, which represents nearly 90 defendants, including Pitbull, Justin Bieber, Karol G, Enrique Iglesias, Ricky Martin, Jason Derulo, J Blavin, Ozuna, Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, Becky G, Rosalia and Diplo. The measure alleges technical failures in the copyright claim.
This motion maintains that the complaint “does not adduce facts that demonstrate what works are really owned by the plaintiffs and about which they have standing to sue.”
“Plaintiffs claim ownership of an entire basic musical genre — the ‘reggaeton rhythm’ — based on simple, unprotectable common musical elements, which are nothing more than single-note common drum beats,” another motion filed said. by WK Records, Pitbull’s Mr. 305 Inc, Maluma and 11 other defendants.
In May, a Manhattan jury ruled that Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking out Loud” did not infringe the copyright of the Marvin Gaye song “Let’s Get It On.” Pryor Cashman also represented Sheeran in the case.
Stars from Taylor Swift to Led Zeppelin have been embroiled in legal battles over their music.
CNN has contacted the plaintiffs for comment.
— Lauren del Valle, Nicki Brown and Sabrina Souza, all with CNN, contributed to this report.
