Sponsored by The George Washington University Law School & Columbia Law School

CASES

2010-2019

Stories about claims of music copyright infringement appear fairly regularly in Variety and other mainstream publications. Few of these disputes go to trial, and fewer still generate published judicial opinions. Since the 1850s federal courts have published over 100 opinions dealing with this issue, but the frequency with which these cases arise has increased markedly over the past twenty years. We will, of course, add new cases to the web site as they surface. With this modestly proportioned body of information we have organized the cases chronologically by year.

List of Cases

Year	Country	Case Name	Court	Complaining Work	Defending Work	Complaining Author	Defending
2010	US	Currin v. Pharrell Williams, et al.	D. Conn.	I'm Frontin'	Frontin	David & Peter Currin	Pharrell Williams
2010	AU	Larrikin Music Publishing Ltd. v. EMI Songs Australia Ltd.	Fed. Ct. Aus.	Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree	Down Under	Marion Sinclair	Colin Hay ("Men At Work")
2010	US	Prunte v. Universal Music Group Inc., et al.	D.C. Cir.	Fire in Da Hole, Plus Others	Fire in the Hole, Plus Others	Robert R. Prunte	Black Rob, et al.
2010	US	Marshall v. Huffman	N.D. Cal.	You are the One	My Love	Preston Marshall	John Huffman, Real Content Media Group, Mariah Carey
2010	US	Martel Ellis v. Wyclef Jean	S.D.N.Y.	Danger	Welcome to the East	Martel Ellis	Wyclef Jean
2010	US	Ebony Latrice Batts v. William Adams, et al. [“Black Eyed Peas”]	C.D. Cal.	Boom Dynamite	Boom Boom Pow	Ebony Latrice Batts aka “Phoenix Phenom”	William Adams, et al. [“Black Eyed Peas”]
2010	US	Holmes v. Page, et al.	C.D. Cal.	Dazed and Confused	Dazed and Confused	Jake Holmes	Led Zeppelin
2011	US	Pyatt v. Raymond	S.D.N.Y.	Caught Up	Caught Up	Wadena Pyatt	Usher Raymond
2011	US	Lessem v. Taylor	S.D.N.Y.	Elevator	How We Do	Ryan Lessem, Douglas Johnson	Jayceon Taylor (“The Game”), Andre Young (“Dr. Dre”), Michael Elizondo, Curtis Jackson (“50 Cent”)
2011	US	Saregama India v. Timothy Mosley, et al.	11th Cir.	Baghon Mein Behar Hai	Put You on the Game	Anonymous	Timothy Mosley, aka "Timbaland"
2011	DE	Eight Mile Style [Marshall Mathers, aka Eminem” v. Audi GmbH	Hamburg Regional Court	Advertisement for Chrysler Corp.	Advertisement for Audi A6 “Avant”	Marshall Mathers [aka “Eminem”]	Audi GmbH
2011	DE	Obinger v. McDonald's	OLG [Higher State Court] Munich		McDonald's-Jingle	Stephan Obinger	McDonald's Corporation
2011	US	Ernest Straughter v. Usher Raymond, et al.	C.D. Cal.	The Reasons Why	Burn	Earnest Straughter	Usher Raymond
2011	US	Stokes v. Stephens	D.N.J.	Where are You Now?	Maxine's Interlude	Anthony Stokes	John Legend
2012	US	Lyles v. Capital - EMI Music, Inc., et al.	S.D. Ohio	Without You	Without You	Bruce Lyles	David Guetta
2012	TWN	People v. Xinru Wang	Taiwan Shilin District Court	What Is Wrong with Love	Sleeping Beauty	Meiru Huang	Xinru Wang
2012	US	Peters v. West	7th Cir.	Stronger	Stronger	Vince Peters	Kanye West
2012	US	Done Deal v. Carter	S.D.N.Y.	Bedrock	Bedrock	William Keith	Dwayne Carter, aka Lil Wayne
2012	US	Poindexter v. EMI Record Group	S.D.N.Y.	Think Line Between Love and Hate	Washed Away	Robert Poindexter, et al.	EMI Record Group
2012	PRC	Rui Hua Wang v. Qi Gang Chen	Sup. Ct. Beijing	You and Me	You and Me	Rui Hua Wang	Qi Gang Chen
2012	US	Black Keys v. Home Depot and Pizza Hut	C.D. Cal.	Lonely Boy; Gold on the Ceiling	Advertisement for Home Depot; Advertisement for Pizza Hut	Daniel Auerbach and Patrick Carney
2012	US	Erickson v. Blake	D. Or.	Pi Symphony	What Pi Sounds Like	Lars Erickson	Michael John Blake
2012		Barobax v. Chakraborty, et al.		Soosan Khanoom	Pyaar Ki Pungi	Kevian Haghgoo et al.	Pritam Chakraborty
2013	US	Hobbs v. John	7th Cir.	Natasha	Nikita	Guy Hobbs	Elton John
2013	US	Loomis v. Cornish	C.D. Cal.	Bright Red Chords	Domino	Will Loomis	Jessica Cornish
2013	US	Love v. Universal Music Group, Inc.	W.D. Mo.	I'm Doing My Job	Doin My Job	Bloodstone	Kanye West
2013	US	Twilight Records v. Raymond, et al.	N.D. Ill.	Syl Johnson	Different Strokes	Usher Raymond	Call Me a Mack
2014	US	Francescatti v. Germanotta ["Lady Gaga"]	N.D. Ill.	Juda	Judas	Rebecca Francescatti	Stefani Germanotta
2014	US	Pringle v. Adams ["Black Eyed Peas"]	9th Cir.	Take a Drive	I Gotta Feeling	Brian Pringle	William Adams, et al.
2014	US	Steward v. Kanye West	C.D. Cal.	Bumpin' Bus Stop	Gold Digger	David Pryor	Kanye West
2014	US	TufAmerica, Inc. v. Warner Bros Music Corp., et al	S.D.N.Y.	Hook & Sling, Pt. I	Run This Town	Eddie Bo & The Soul Finders	Shawn Carter ("Jay-Z") et al.
2014	US	Mayimba Music v. Sony	S.D.N.Y.	Loca con su Tiguere	Loca con su Tiguere	Ramon Arias Vasquez	Eduard Edwin Bello Pou
2014	US	Paul Batiste v. Faheem Rasheed Najm	E.D. La.	I Like Your Way; Blues Man	Put It Down; Reggae Night	Paul Batiste	Faheem Rasheed Najm (T-Pain)
2014	DE	Musikverlag Richard Birnbach v. ZDF	OLG [Higher State Court] Munich	Fanfaren-Blues	"Today" Jingle	Klaus Wüsthoff, Hans Günter Wagener	ZDF
2015	US	Lane v. Knowles-Carter	S.D.N.Y.	X.O.X.O.	X.O.	Ahmad Javon Lane	Beyonce Knowles-Carter
2015	US	New Old Music v. Gottwald, et al.	S.D.N.Y.	Zimba ku	Price Tag	Lenny Lee Goldsmith	Jessica Cornish, et al.
2015	US	Devin Copeland v. Justin Bieber, et al.	4th Cir.	Someone to Love	Someone to Love	Devin Copeland	Justin Bieber, et al.
2015	US	TufAmerica v. Diamond, et al.	S.D.N.Y.	Say What; Drop the Bomb	Shadrach; Car Thief; Hold It	Trouble Funk [band]	Diamond, Horovitz, et al. [Beastie Boys]
2015	US	Miles Floyd v. Rod Stewart, et al.	N.D. Ga.	Corrine Corrina	Corrina Corrina	American folk song, as performed by Bo Carter	American folk song, as performed by Rod Stewart
2015	US	Daniel Marino v. Usher, et al.	E.D. Pa.		Bad Girl	Daniel Marino	Usher Raymond
2015	US	Tom Petty v. Sam Smith		I Won't Back Down	Stay With Me	Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne	Sam Smith
2015	US	Richard Friedman v. Hans Zimmer	C.D. Cal.	To Our Fallen	Music score for “12 Years a Slave”	Richard Friedman	Hans Zimmer
2015	DE	Dark Sanctuary v. Bushido	BGH [Federal Court of Justice]	Les Memoires Blessées	Janine	Dark Sanctuary	Bushido
2015	FR	Johnson v. Goldman	Cour de cassation [supreme court for judicial matters]	Forever	Aicha	Jefferson/Jean-François Johnson	Jean-Jacques Goldman
2015	US	Guzman v. Hacienda Records, Inc.	5th Cir.	Triste Adventura	Jose Guzman	Cartas de Amor	Hacienda Records, Inc.
2015	IT	Universal Music Publishing v. Sony BMG Music Entertainment	Cass. civ.	Zingara	Prendi questa mano, zingara	Enrico Riccardi and Luigi Albertelli	Francesco De Gregori
2016	US	Fahmy v. Jay Z et al.	C.D. Cal.	Khosara, Khosara	Big Pimpin'	Baligh Hamdi	Jay Z et al.
2016	US	Bowen v. Paisley	M.D. Tenn.	Remind Me	Remind Me	Amy Bowen	Brad Paisley, et al
2016	US	McDonald v. West, et al.	2d Cir.	Made in America	Made in America	Joel McDonald	Kanye West, et al.
2016	US	VMG Salsoul v Madonna Ciccone, et al.	9th Cir.	Chicago Bus Stop	Vogue	Vincent Montana, Richard Pettibone	Madonna Ciccone, Richard Pettibone
2016	US	We Shall Overcome Foundation v. Richmond Foundation & Ludlow Music	S.D.N.Y	We Shall Overcome	NA	African-American Spiritual	NA
2016	US	Alisa Apps v. Universal Music, et al.	D. Nev.	Need to Know	Love Me Again	Alisa Apps	John Newman
2016	US	Arnett v. Alan Jackson & Sony Music	E.D.N.C.	Remember Me	Remember When	Timothy Arnett	Alan Jackson
2016	US	BMG v. Atlantic Recording Organization, et al.	S.D.N.Y.	Came to Do	Post to Be	Joseph Bereal, et al.	Omari Ishmael Grandberry, aka "Omarion"
2016	US	Eric Smith, et al. v. Amanda Jiroux, et al.	C.D. Cal.	No Rain	Insane	Eric Smith, et al.	Amanda Jiroux
2016	US	Gabor Presser v. Kanye West, et al.	S.D.N.Y.	Gyongyhaju Lany	New Slaves	Gabor Presser & Anna Adamis	Kanye West
2016	US	Mattie Music Group v. Lamar, Warner/Chappell, et al.	C.D. Cal.	Don't You Want to Stay	I Do This	Bill Withers, et al.	Kendrick Lamar, et al.
2016	US	McElroy, et al. v. Eriksen, et al.	C.D. Cal.	Why You Treat Me So Bad	I'm Worth It	Thomas McElroy, Denzil Delano, Jay King	Mikkel Eriksen, et al.
2016	US	Songs Music Publishing v. Porsche, et al.	M.D. Tenn.	Jungle	Advertisement for Porsche’s Cayman 718 automobile	Members of the band “X Ambassadors”	Cramer-Krasselt advertising agency
2016	US	Yours, Mine & Ours v. Sony, et al.	C.D. Cal.	Young Girls	Uptown Funk	Members of “electro-funk” band Collage	Peter Hernandez (“Bruno Mars”) et al.
2016	US	Estate of Armetia Chatmon v. Eric Clapton, et al.	M.D. Tenn.	Corrine, Corrina	Alberta, Alberta	Public domain blues number performed by Bo Carter (Chatmon)	Public domain blues number performed by Eric Clapton
2016	US	Miller, et al. dba “Sleigh Bells” v. Demi Lovato	C.D. Cal.	Infinity Guitars	Stars	“Sleigh Bells” [band]	Demi Lovato
2016	US	Greggs v. Grande, et al.	C.D. Cal.	Takes All Night	One Last Time	Alex Greggs	Ariana Grande
2016	US	HaloSongs, Inc., Martin Harrington, Thomas Leonard v. Ed Sheeran, et al.	C.D. Cal.	Amazing	Photograph	Martin Harrington & Thomas Leonard	Ed Sheeran & John McDaid
2016	US	Darlene Love v. Scripps Network, Inc.	N.D. Cal.	Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)		Jeff Barry, et al.
2016	US	Casey Dienel v. Justin Bieber, et al.	M.D. Tenn.	Ring the Bell	Sorry	Casey Dienel	Julia Michael, Justin Tranter, Justin Bieber, Thomas Pentz, et al.
2016	US	Cirque du Soleil v. Justin Timberlake, et al.	S.D.N.Y.	Steel Dream	Don't Hold the Wall	Cirque du Soleil	Justin Timberlake, et al.
2016	US	PK Music v. Justin Timberlake, et al.	S.D.N.Y.	A New Day is Here at Last	Damn Girl	Perry Kibbel	Justin Timberlake, et al.
2016	FR	Feriol v. Maurici	Cour de cassation [supreme court for judicial matters]	Les Chansons d’artiste	Si seulement je pouvais lui manquait	Laurent Feriol	Calogero Joseph Salvatore Maurici (“Calogero”)
2017	US	Marcus Gray, et al. v. Katy Perry	C.D. Cal.	Joyful Noise	Dark Horse	Marcus Gray, et al.	Katy Perry
2017	US	Roberts v. Gordy	11th Cir.	Hustlin	Party Rock Anthem	Wiliam Roberts, Andrew Harr, Jermaine Jackson	Stefan & Skyler Gordy ("LMFAO")
2017	US	Mitchell v. Priority Records	W.D. Ky.	Star in the Ghetto	If It Ain't Ruff	Leroy Mitchell	Andre Young( "Dr. Dre")
2017	NZ	Eight Mile Style v. New Zealand National Party	H.C. N.Z.	Lose Yourself	Eminem Esque	Marshall Mathers, et al.	Michael Cohen
2017	US	Abdul Muhammad v. Chancellor Bennett	N.D. Ill.	Bridge Through Time	Windows	Abdul Muhammad (Erik Saunders)	Chancellor Bennett (“Chance Rapper”)
2017	US	Lastrada Entertainment v. Mark Ronson, et al.	S.D.N.Y.	More Bounce to the Ounce	Uptown Funk	Roger Troutman	Mark Ronson
2017	US	Enclosed Music v. Steinman, et al.	C.D. Cal.	[I’d do] Anything for You	I’d do Anything for Love	Jon Dunmore, Mike Molina	James Steinman
2017	US	Sean Hall, et al. v. Taylor Swift, et al.	C.D. Cal.	Playas Gon’ Play	Shake it Off	Sean Hall	Taylor Swift
2017	US	Estate of Barre v. Beyoncé Knowles Carter, Sony Music, et al.	E.D. La.	Booking the Hoes from New Wildings; A 27 Piece Huh?	Formation	Anthony Barre aka “Messy Mya”	Beyoncé Knowles Carter
2017	IN	Super Cassettes Ind. v. Trimurti Films	BOM HC	Kehdoon Tumhe	Socha Hai (Kehdoon Tumhe remix)	Kishore Kumar & Asha Bhosle	Jumin Nautiyal & Neeti Mohan
2017	US	Golden Crown Publishing v. Sony Music, Jonathan Smithy [aka “Lil’ Jon”], et al.	S.D.N.Y.	Turn Down for What?	Turn Down for What?	Fredley Saurel [aka “Freddy GZ”], et al.	Jonathan Smith [aka Lil’ Jon”], et al.
2017	US	Stone et al. v. TIG7 Publishing, LLC et al.	N.D. Ga.	Funk You Up	Uptown Funk	The Sequence	Bruno Mars & Mark Ronson
2018	US	Paul Rose v. Paul David Hewson, aka “Bono”, et al.	S.D.N.Y.	Nae Slappin'	The Fly	Paul Rose	Paul Hewson, aka “Bono”, et al.
2018	US	Wilson v. Dynatone Pub., et al.	2d Cir.	Sho' Nuff	Suit & Tie	John Wilson, Charles Still, Terrance Stubbs	Justin Timberlake
2018	US	Abiodun Oyewole v. Rita Ora, et al.	S.D.N.Y.	When the Revolution Comes	How We do Party; Party and Bullshit; Calm Down	Abiodun Oyewole	Rita Ora; Christopher Wallace; Marshall Mathers & Trevor Smith
2018	US	Cortes-Ramos v. Enrique Martin-Morales ("Ricky Martin")	1st Cir.	World Cup Song Contest Entry	Vida	Luis Cortes-Ramos	Ricky Martin
2018	US	Fahmy v. Jay Z, et al.	9th Cir.	Khosara, Khosara	Big Pimpin'	Baligh Hamdi	Jay Z, et al.
2018	US	Pharrell Williams, et al. v. Frankie Gaye, et al.	9th Cir.	Got to Give it Up	Blurred Lines	Marvin Gaye	Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams
2018	US	Michael May v. Miley Ray Cyrus, et al.	S.D.N.Y.	We Run Things	We Can't Stop	Michael May	Miley Ray Cyrus
2018	US	Lela Weems v. Odd Future Records, et al.	C.D. Cal.	Why Can't There Be Love	Deathcamp	Lela Weems	Tyler Okonma
2018	US	[INPLAY] Platinum Jack Entertainment v. ESPN and Chick-Fil-A	N.D. Tex.	Best I Had	Ads aired on ESPN	Drayter [Band]	Chick-Fil-A Advertising Agency
2018	US	Carey v. Sheeran	S.D.N.Y.	When I Found You	The Rest of Our Life	Sean Carey, Beau Golden, Jasmine Rae	Edward Sheeran
2018	US	Del Rio v. Virgin America, et al.	C.D. Cal.	Flight Safety Video		Neomi Del Rio	Virgin America
2018	US	Jamie Ciero v. Disney, et al.	C.D. Cal.	Volar	Let It Go	Jamie Ciero	Disney
2018	US	Tracy Chapman v. Nicki Minaj	C.D. Cal	Baby Can I Hold You	Sorry	Tracy Chapman	Nicki Minaj ft. Nas
2018	US	[INPLAY] Brighter Sky Productions LLC, et al. v. Marriott International, Inc., et al.	N.D. Ill.	Rocket Boys Musical	October Sky Musical	Dan Tramon, Diana Belkowski, Carl Anthony Tramon	Marriott International, Inc, and Universal Pictures
2018	US	Benny Mardones, et al. v. Cyndi Lauper, et al.	S.D.N.Y.	Into the Night	Raise You Up	Benny Mardones & Robert Tepper	Cyndi Lauper
2018	US	Richard Morrill v. Gwen Stefani, Pharrell Williams, et al.	C.D. Cal.	Who's Got My Lightah (1996) / Who's Got My Lighter (2009)	Spark the Fire	Richard Morrill	Gwen Stefani & Pharrell Williams
2018	DE	Stahlgewitter v. Frei.Wild	OLG [Higher State Court] Hamburg	Auftrag Deutsches Reich	Schenkt uns Dummheit, kein Niveau	Stahlgewitter	Frei.Wild
2018	JP	Harumaki Gohan v. Mori		Hachigatsu no Rainy [August Rainy]	M.A.K.E.	Harumaki Gohan	Yamato Mori
2019	US	The Rolling Stones v. The Verve		The Last Time	Bittersweet Symphony	The Rolling Stones	The Verve
2019	US	Andrew Green v. Kanye West, et al.	D.S.C	Video Recording of child praying	Ultralight Beam	Alice T. Johnson and N.G (minor child)	Kanye West
2019	US	William Smith et al. v. "The Weeknd"	C.D. Cal.	I Need to Love	A Lonely Night	William Smith, Brian Clover, Scott McCulloch	Abel M. Tesfaye (“The Weeknd”)
2019	US	Song-A-Tron Music et al. v. Jones et al.	S.D.N.Y	Back it Up	24 Hours	Song-A-Tron Music	Christian Jones ("TeeFLii")
2019	US	Mimi Korman v. Julio Iglesias	11th Cir.	Me Olvide de Vivir	Me Olvide de Vivir	Mimi Korman	Julio Iglesias
2019	DE	[INPLAY] Kraftwerk v Setlur	Court of Justice of EU	Metall auf Metall	Nur mir	Kraftwerk	Sabrina Setlur
2019	US	Rodriguez v. Avalos, et al.	W.D. Tex.	Pediré	Pediré	Esmeralda Lucy Rodriguez	Eric Avalos, Courtney Rico, Chavalos Music, Inc.
2019	US	[INPLAY] Nicholas v. Pigott, et al.	E.D. La.	Roll Call (Instrumental)	That beat; In my feelings; Nice for what	Samuel Nicholas III ("Sam Scully")	Adam J. Pigott ("BlaqNmilD"); Aubrey Drake Graham ("Drake")
2019	US	[INPLAY] Brandon Lee ("Don Lee"), et al. v. Hill ("Lil Nas X"), et al.	S.D.N.Y.	gwenXdonlee4-142	Rodeo	Brandon Lee ("Don Lee") & Glen Demeritt	Montero Lamar Hill ("Lil Nas X"), et al.
2019	US	Mark Halper v. Sony/ATV Music Publishing, LLC, et al.	6th Cir.	Don't Throw Our Love Away	Stay With Me	Mark Halper	Sam Smith, et al.
2019	US	Parker, et al. v. Winwood, et al.	6th Cir.	Ain't That a Lot of Loving	Gimme Some Lovin	Willia Dean Parker & Homer Banks	Mervyn Winwood, et al.
2019	US	[INPLAY] Key, et al. ("Yellowcard") v. Higgins, et al. ("Juice WRLD")	C.D. Cal.	Holly Wood Died	Lucid Dreams	Ryan Key, et al. ("Yellowcard")	Jared A. Higgins ("Juice WRLD"), et al.
2019	US	Guity v. Santos	S.D.N.Y.	Eres Mia	Eres Mia	Nazim Guity	Anthony Santos
2019	US	Pickett v. Migos Touring, Inc., et al.	S.D.N.Y.	Walk It Like I Talk It	Walk It Talk IT	Leander C. Pickett ("M.O.S.")	Migos Touring, Inc. ("Migos"), et al.
2019	US	Zachry Brown v. Ryan Tedder	C.D. Cal.	Nowhere Left to Go	Zachry Brown, Ryan Tedder	Nowhere Left to Go	Zachry Brown, Ryan Tedder
2019	US	Brown v. Netflix	S.D.N.Y.	Fish Sticks n' Tater Tots (song)	Burlesque: Heart of the Glitter Tribe (film)	Tamita Brown, et al.	Netflix, et al.
2019	US	Stone v. Dudley	C.D. Cal.	N/A	Sharon Stoned	Sharon Stone	Chelsea Dudley a/k/a/ Chanel West Coast
2019	US	Batiste v. Lewis, et al.	E.D. La.	Hip Jazz; World of Blues; Salsa 4 Elise; I Got the Rhythm On	Thrift Shop; Neon Cathedral	Paul Batiste	Ryan Lewis; Ben Haggerty ("Macklemore")
2019	US	[INPLAY] Richardson v. Kharbouch	N.D. Ill.	Hood Pushin’ Weight	Ain’t Worried About Nothin	Eddie Lee Richardson aka Hotwire the Producer	Karim Kharbouch aka French Montana; Excuse My French
2019	US	Hines v. Roc-A-Fella Records Inc. et al.	S.D.N.Y.	Help Me Put Out The Flame (In My Heart)	Paper Chase; Toe 2 Toe	Ernie Hines	Jay-Z; Timbaland
2019	US	Jefferson v. Raisen, et al.	C.D. Cal.	Truth Hurts	Healthy (Demo)	Melissa Jefferson ("Lizzo")	Justin Raisen; Jeremiah Raisen
2019	IN	Saregama India Ltd. v. Balajie Motion Pictures & Ors	Delhi H.C.	Var Dhagala Lagli Kal	Var Dhagala Lagli Kal	Dada Kondke	Meet Bros, et al.

The George Washington University Law School

2000 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052

Jacob Burns Law Library

716 20th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052