District court has dismissed allegation that the 'Watch the Throne' track ripped off a song by New York musician Joel Mac.
- Oct 12, 2016
AceShowbiz - Kanye West, Jay-Z and Frank Ocean win the copyright infringement case over their song "Made in America". A federal appeals court has dismissed claim that the "Watch the Throne" track ripped off a song by New York musician Joel McDonald a.k.a. Joel Mac.
"We have considered all of McDonald's arguments and find them to be without merit," the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday, October 7. The lawsuit also named producers Mike Dean and Shama Joseph, along with Universal Music Group, Roc-A-Fella Records, Def Jam Music and Roc Nation.
Representatives for Kanye, Jay-Z and Frank haven't commented on the issue yet.
Joel filed his suit in 2014, arguing that "Made in America" had stolen its concept from his song of the same name.
The "Made in America" lawsuit win follows a 2011 "Watch the Throne" copyright case filed by soul singer Syl Johnson, who accused Kanye and Jay-Z of using an unauthorized sample of his song, "Different Strokes", on a track on the deluxe version of the album, "The Joy". Syl ultimately settled with the pair in the following year for an undisclosed amount.
