LMFAO MAY BE SHUFFLIN’ TO COURT FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT: SORRY FOR PARTY ROCKING? Hustlin’ hip hop rapper Rick Ross, together with music producers “The Runners” are suing electropop rappers LMFAO, Kobalt Music Publishing and Kia Motors America for copyright infringement over 2011 chart topping hit “Party Rock” from LMFAO’s album “Sorry for Party Rocking”. The Complaint, filed by William L. Roberts, II (aka Rick Ross) and Andrew Harr and Jermaine Jackson (aka The Runners) alleges that LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” “copies, interpolates the lyrics, underlying music and beat of “Hustlin’” and prominently features the highly recognizable “Everyday I’m hustlin’…” phrase by featuring at key points in “Party Rock Anthem””. In other words, Rick Ross isn’t happy that LMFAO stole his “Everyday I’m hustling” line, changed it to “Everyday I’m shuffling” and did very well for themselves. Ross’ 2006 single “Hustlin’” was popular in its own right, having reached the number one position on the U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart, U.S. Billboard Pop 100 chart and U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (according to the Complaint). But LMFAO’s anthem was far more successful, having gone to number one in over ten countries, including Australia and the US and has featured in various advertisements and TV shows such as Gossip Girl and Glee. The “Everyday I’m shufflin’” phrase even features on T-shirts and other clothing items, thanks to LMFAO’s clothing line, Party Rock Clothing. Is there anyone who hasn’t shuffled (or attempted shufflin’) to “Party Rock Anthem”? Ross and The Runners are seeking maximum statutory damages and an injunction. Kobalt Music Publishing, as the music publishing company for “Party Rock Anthem”, has also been named as a defendant, as has Kia Motors America, for its video advertisements featuring hamsters shufflin’ to the song. At the date of this post LMFAO have not yet responded to Ross’ Complaint. It is unclear whether LMFAO will deny any form of copying or whether they will argue a defence. “Everyday I’m hustlin’” is repeated over 30 times as the hook in “Hustlin’” and takes up a great deal of the song. Looking at the lyrics alone, on the one hand, the only two words in common are “Everyday I’m”, so it would be difficult for Ross to argue that such a simple phrase has been copied. But on the other hand, the mere fact that LMFAO’s phrase has one different word may not be enough to avoid copyright infringement – hustlin’ and shufflin’ are similar. Looking at the underlying music and beat of the phrase “Everyday I’m hustlin”, Ross may also find it tough to argue that this is a substantial part of his song – the rhythm and way in which he performs “Everyday I’m hustlin” sounds similar to the way LMFAO perform “Everyday I’m shufflin”, but is the rhythm alone enough to be considered an important, essential or material part of “Hustlin”? The way Ross performs the phrase is somewhere between rapping and singing, so it doesn’t seem to be an important melody in comparison with the two-bar Kookaburra tune in dispute in the Kookaburra case. The phrase really needs the words “Everyday I’m hustlin”, together with the rhythm to be similar to “Party Rock Anthem”. Even if Ross can prove the lyrics or the music are a substantial part of “Hustlin’”, he would still need to prove that LMFAO has in fact reproduced or copied his song, and that the similarity between his song and “Party Rock Anthem” isn’t simply a coincidence. Given the popularity of Ross’ hit in the US, LMFAO are likely to have heard it and given the close wording and rhythm of the way the phrase is performed in both songs, we think it likely that Ross could prove the similarity isn’t a mere coincidence. But has the value of “Hustlin’” been adversely affected? The songs were released nearly five years apart and the similarity may have actually increased interest in the earlier “Hustlin’”. Ross could still argue that the value of copyright in “Hustlin’” depreciated due to the infringement, and a court may look at the fees that LMFAO should have paid in order to use Ross’ phrase lawfully. Stay tuned for news of whether LMFAO will be shufflin’ to court any time soon. Meanwhile, you can decide for yourself by listening to the videos below. King & Wood Mallesons Emily Chung
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 14:12:32 +0000
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