Jay-Z & Timberland Win ‘Big Pimpin’ Copyright Case

The ‘Big Pimpin’ copyright infringement case involving Jay-Z and Timberland looks to be over. Christina Snyder ruled that nephew of Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi, Osama Fahmy, did not have the standing to continue to pursue the claim that his uncle’s record ‘Khosara Khosara’ was illicitly sampled, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Fahmy filed the lawsuit in 2007, and it became very complicated after that. Jay Z and Timbaland were saying Fahmy could hold moral rights in Egypt, while the 2001 license they received for the record from EMI for $100,000 was specifically excluded usage in Egypt. Snyder had the job to determine if Egyptian law could apply, in which she ruled it did not.

Fahmy’s attorney Keith Wesley said , “We disagree strongly with the ruling, and we fully intend to appeal. We haven’t fully formulated our appeal strategy, but certainly we believe the court committed legal error in failing to restrict the license under Egyptian law.”

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