(AllHipHop News) Jay Z and producer Timbaland are facing calls for a new trial over their use of an Egyptian music sample in their hit song “Big Pimpin.”
The case has been rumbling on ever since, despite Los Angeles judges twice ruling in the defendants’ favor, most recently in October, 2015, when U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder cut the trial short and declared Fahmy lacked the legal standing to pursue his claims, because he gave up his rights when he agreed to license it to local record labels.
However, Fahmy, who co-owns the rights to Hamdy’s tune, has continued to appeal the decision, and in a new filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday (March 1), his attorney Keith Wesley argued that while his client may have given up his economic rights to Khosara Khosara, he still maintained his moral rights under Egyptian law, which prevents “unauthorized fundamental alterations” to the composition.
Wesley insists Fahmy did not approve of Jay Z’s rhymes about money, drugs, and prostitutes, and is seeking a new trial – with a new judge – even though moral rights generally aren’t recognized in the U.S., according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Lawyers for Jay Z and Timbaland previously asked for a dismissal of the latest appeal in December.
