Jay Z, Timbaland Attorneys Call Out Racial Insensitivity in “Big Pimpin'” Copyright Appeal
Jay Z and Timbaland won big last fall during a copyright trial over “Big Pimpin,'” but their attorneys are on the offensive again, claiming an appeal of the decision is filled with illegitimate grievances and exacerbated by a reference to the KKK.
The legal battle began in 2007, when the heir of Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdy sued the duo, along with just about every individual and company associated with the 1999 song. The heir, Osama Fahmy, claimed “Big Pimpin'” infringed on his rights to Hamdy’s 1957 song “Khosara Khosara” by sampling it without permission.
Last fall, U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder stopped the trial before the jury could deliberate, finding Fahmy didn’t have standing to pursue the claims because he had given up his rights in the work. In February, she entered her final judgment and dismissed the suit with prejudice.
Fahmy appealed the ruling in August. In a 64-page opening brief, attorney Keith Wesley argues that the district court erred in finding Fahmy lacked standing to sue.
Wesley says Fahmy licensed “Khosara Khosara” to another Egyptian man named Mohsen Jaber, but reserved the right to approve derivative works — albeit through Egyptian law instead of…