We already know that Kim Kardashian is under hefty legal scrutiny at the moment. A lawsuit was filed against her newly launched skincare line, SKNN BY KIM, for alleged trademark infringement. However, the reality star maintains through her representatives that the suit is nothing more than a money “shakedown.” And it looks like she’s not the only one with problems, too, now that her ex Kanye West is facing a separate but similar kind of lawsuit concerning infringement.
According to court documents obtained by Billboard, the lawsuit against Ye is over alleged copyright infringement in a song on Donda 2, a.k.a. his eleventh studio album that was released exclusively on his “Stem Player” device co-creation. Apparently, Marshall Jefferson’s hit song “Move Your Body” was sampled without permission on the 45-year-old’s song “Flowers.” Jefferson’s publisher at Ultra International Music Publishing brought the complaint forward and condemned Kanye West’s “hypocrisy”, saying in part,
West advocates for artists’ rights with one hand, yet has no shame in taking away rights from another artist with the other.
Furthermore, they claim that the Grammy winner and his reps admitted to the unauthorized sampling in previous discussions. They attest that, as a result, it was a “deliberate” case of infringement and “in blatant disregard of UIMP’s rights of ownership.” 62-year-old Marshall Jefferson said in a statement of his own to the outlet:
I’ve been sampled thousands of times. There is a right way and a wrong way to go about it. Getting done by another artist, a BLACK artist, a fellow Chicagoan without acknowledgment is disappointing.
Consequently, UIMP is seeking a “permanent injunction” against Kanye West et al from continuing to use the sample in question. What’s more, they want the “maximum statutory damages of $150,000 per infringement,” plus attorney fees, other legal costs, and interest. Otherwise, they’re willing to take it to trial to be settled there.
The lawsuit obviously isn’t good news for the performer. Per Billboard, it marks his sixth known time being sued over samples in his lengthy music career, with most being settled out of court or dismissed. This is also a departure from earlier in the year, when much of the news surrounding West involved his actions toward soon-to-be ex-wife and boyfriend Pete Davidson. Kardashian is currently fighting back against the infringement accusations in her own lawsuit, saying through reps that it is “not what it seems.”
From the outside looking in, it seems that things are improving slightly in the co-parenting department between Kim Kardashian and Kanye West in the wake of their very public social media feud earlier this year. West’s commentary about the Hulu star, Pete Davidson, and others prompted even Instagram to suspend him for 24 hours. (The account was wiped clean and left unused afterwards.)
In addition, the backlash from it all saw the Grammys also pull him from the 2022 performance list. He’s reportedly retreated from public life to work on himself ever since then, but fans caught a surprise appearance when he paid tribute on stage to P Diddy at this year’s BET Awards.
Meanwhile, over on the first season of The Kardashians (available to stream now for Hulu subscribers), Kanye West was likewise only seen briefly when he came to the aid of Kim K by supposedly rescuing her remaining sex tape footage from Ray J. Yet, Ray J refutes the former couple’s narrative of events entirely. As for the latest copyright lawsuit against him, only time will tell how the legal situation resolves.
