AceShowbiz
 
Drake Among Witnesses to Take the Stand in Music Sampling Trial
Instagram
Music

The 'Hotline Bling' hitmaker is expected to testify in front of a jury during a trial for the long-running case against Hebrew Hustle and Jimmy Smith's estate over an authorized use of the latter's song.

AceShowbiz - Drake will reportedly take to the witness stand during the trial about a music sample in December.

In 2014, the "Hotline Bling" rapper was sued by executives at music publishing and management company Hebrew Hustle and the estate of jazz musician Jimmy Smith over the use of a clip from a spoken word recording of Jimmy on Drake's 2013 hit "Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2".

The Canadian star responded by launching a counter-suit against Hebrew Hustle and its founder Stephen Hacker for damaging his brand by allegedly putting his face and name on the firm's website to make it appear as if he had worked with the company and endorsed their work, while Hacker's online biography allegedly claimed the manager and his clients had "a heavy hand" in the creation of Drake's music.

In May, it was confirmed that the case would be heading to trial and it is due to begin in New York in December. According to The Blast, Hebrew Hustle's legal team filed their witness list this week and Drake had been named as one of the main people they want to take to the stand. The documents note that Drake will give his testimony live, meaning he will testify under oath in front of a jury.

In regard to the music sample allegation, Drake and his label Cash Money Records won that case on fair use grounds last year (17), but the decision was appealed.

Both parties had tried to prevent the long-running case from heading to trial by filing motions requesting summary judgments instead, but U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III ruled in May that it was a matter that should be decided at a trial.

He ruled that although the musician had established the defendants used his image and identity without consent, questions of whether they commercially benefited from their apparent association with him should be a matter for a jury.

About This Article

AI-Assisted Content: This article was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence technology under human editorial oversight. Our editorial team reviews and verifies all AI-generated content for accuracy.

Sources: Information in this article may be aggregated from publicly available sources including press releases, news agencies, and entertainment industry sources. We provide attribution where applicable and strive to ensure factual accuracy.

Learn More: For details about our editorial standards and practices, visit our Editorial Standards page.

Contact: Questions or concerns? Email us at [email protected]

Follow AceShowbiz.com @ Google News

You can share this post!

You might also like
Related Posts