A copyright infringement lawsuit over rap icon Jay Z's 1999 hit single "Big Pimpin" was dismissed by a federal judge Wednesday.
Just last week Jay Z (Sean Carter) and "Big Pimpin" producer Timbaland (Timothy Mosley ) testified in court that they had a valid license to use elements of the 1957 hit Arabic song “Khosara Khosara.”The song was originally created by Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi and the two were sued by Hamdi's heir, Osama Ahmed Fahmy.
Judge Christina A. Snyder of the United States District Court in Los Angeles announced that Mr. Fahmy did not have any standing to pursue the infringement claim because the economic rights to the song had been signed away and Fahmy could not assert moral rights outside of Egypt.
Fahmy originally sued back in 2007, alleging the song had been used without permission and that by altering the original song Jay Z had violated Hamdi's moral rights. Jay Z presented one of his CD's in court as evidence, referencing liner notes that credit Khosara Khosara.
Timbaland also testified that the song was from a CD of Arabic music labeled "license free."
Attorney Christina Lepera, who represented Timbaland in the case, issued a statement to Entertainment Weekly stating, "We and our clients obviously are very pleased with this decision. The court correctly ruled that the Plaintiff had no right to bring this case and cannot pursue any claim of infringement in connection with ‘Big Pimpin” whatsoever.”