Batiste Brothers Lawsuit: T-Pain, Rick Ross, DJ Khaled, Cash Money Named In $100M Copyright Case
T-Pain, Rick Ross, DJ Khaled and others have been named in a massive $100M copyright infringement case filed by New Orleans jazz legends the Batiste Brothers. The case was filed last week in a Louisiana US District Court.
Via AllHipHop:
The lawsuit...accuses dozens of producers, rappers and record labels of stealing The Batiste Family's music and illegally incorporating it into their own, without permission or compensation.
The 118-page lawsuit specifically names T-Pain, DJ Khaled, Pitbull, Rick Ross, Ace Hood and Cash Money as defendants, who have released "an immense number of songs infringing upon Plaintiff's catalog."
Songs named in the case include T-Pain's "Freeze" and "Booty Wurk" and "Blame It," Khaled's "All I Do Is Win" and Ace Hood's "Body 2 Body."
"Defendants have blatantly poached beats, lyrics, melodies and chords from Plaintiff's songs," the lawsuit claims, and explains the high dollar amount attached to the suit thusly:
"Many of the Defendants songs have been released multiple times, in multiple versions and that each release constitutes an independent act of copyright infringement."
Paul Batiste is seeking damages, profits and an injunction to keep artists from infringing on the band's copyright any further.
Read pages from the suit over at AllHipHop.