Key Takeaways
- The lawsuit involved copyright claims against about 1,800 reggaeton songs by artists including Bad Bunny and Drake.
- A federal judge reportedly found the central claims unsupported following persuasion from Bad Bunny's legal team.
- Remaining claims now focus on direct sampling, while major legal threats to established artists have been removed.
Bad Bunny, Drake and a host of other major artists scored a significant legal victory in a massive copyright lawsuit involving the rhythmic foundation of reggaeton.
As reported by Rolling Stone, U.S. District Judge André Birotte Jr. reversed an earlier ruling that cleared the way for composition copyright claims involving an estimated 1,800 reggaeton songs by more than 100 artists to proceed to trial. The judge said lawyers for Bad Bunny persuaded him that he erred in his decision last July.
The case stems from claims brought by Cleveland “Clevie” Browne and the heirs of his late Steely & Clevie partner Wycliffe “Steely” Johnson. They argued that their 1989 song “Fish Market” was the source of reggaeton’s dembow rhythm, the signature percussion pattern that helped shape the genre.
After reconsidering the issue, Birotte reportedly determined that the composition copyright claims should no longer advance to trial. Additionally, the defendants successfully argued that the plaintiffs appeared to be seeking copyright protection for a combination of musical elements pulled from different songs, a theory the judge found unsupported by copyright law.
Bad Bunny’s attorneys were joined in their argument by lawyers representing other artists in the lawsuit. His lead attorney, Kenneth Freundlich, argued that the musical components the plaintiffs sought to protect were effectively assembled from different portions of different songs.
The ruling eliminates a substantial portion of litigation involving a lengthy list of stars. Karol G, Anitta, Pitbull, Justin Bieber, and Daddy Yankee are among the other prominent artists tied to the roughly 1,800 songs at issue.
Freundlich called the decision a “significant result” for Bad Bunny, his Rimas label and management company, and the many artists pulled into the case.
What claims are still active in the reggaeton copyright lawsuit?
The ruling does not end the case entirely. Birotte directed the parties to propose a schedule for handling the remaining claims, which center on allegations that various artists directly sampled Steely & Clevie sound recordings. Rolling Stone described that portion of the lawsuit as significantly narrower.
Bad Bunny previously denied allegations that dozens of his songs infringed Steely & Clevie’s work. Among the tracks identified in those claims were “Tití Me Preguntó,” “Un Ratito,” and “Una Vez.”