Jay Z will not lose. A judge has dismissed a case against the hip-hop mogul and Timbaland alleging copyright infringement with regards to their 1999 hit “Big Pimpin’.”
U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder tossed out the case before it reached a jury. The suit was brought by Osama Ahmed Fahmy, the nephew of Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi, who was trying to sue over his uncle’s 1957 song “Khosara Khosara,” which is sampled in “Big Pimpin’.”
Snyder did not provide an in-depth explanation for her decision, but according to The Associated Press, she told jurors that she tossed out the case after hearing testimony from Egyptian law experts.
“My client is pleased with and gratified by the decision,” said Jay Z’s lawyer Andrew Bart.
“We think it’s completely wrong, and we’ll appeal,” said Fahmy’s attorney, Pete Ross.
This isn’t the song’s first brush with the courts—back in 2001, Timbaland paid $100,000 to settle litigation. The AP reports that Jay Z testified in court to the effect that he believed he had the rights to use the sample when he first recorded “Big Pimpin’.”
