Pryor Cashman Client Megan Thee Stallion Wins Dismissal of Copyright Claim
Pryor Cashman client and chart-topping musician Megan Thee Stallion won a dismissal in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York of a lawsuit claiming copyright infringement involving her 2020 hit song “Savage.”
Megan Thee Stallion and other defendants, including Anthony “J. White Did It” White, the producer of “Savage,” were sued by James Greene, who alleged that the defendants had copied music from his instrumental track “It’s About To Be On,” allegedly composed some 20 years before “Savage.”
U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss in its entirety and with prejudice.
Regarding whether the defendants had the requisite access to Greene’s song before writing and recording “Savage,” Judge Failla held “that Plaintiff’s allegations, even generously construed, do not provide sufficient direct or circumstantial evidence to support a finding that Defendants had reasonable access to Plaintiff’s Work.” Further, Judge Failla listened to the works at issue, and, upon her review, found “that Plaintiff cannot establish that his Work was similar to Savage under either [the substantial similarity or striking similarity] standard, thereby providing an independent ground for dismissal.” She concluded “that any appeal from” her dismissal “would not be taken in good faith.”
Megan Thee Stallion was represented by Partner Ilene Farkas and Associate Brian Maida; Summer Associate Ogechi Adele assisted with research for the motion.
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