Future’s legal team have won a copyright case that was brought against him in 2021, but the judge overlooking the proceedings did a good amount of research into the matter herself.
On Friday (August 25), Martha Pacold threw out the lawsuit by rapper DaQuan Robinson alleging that his song, “When U Think About It,” was repackaged by the Atlanta native as a bigger hit, “When I Think About It.”
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Robinson said that he emailed an early cut of his song to Future’s producer a year prior to the release of what he claims is an infringement of his work. Still, the judge dismissed his assertions on grounds of general theme’s in music and, more specifically, Hip Hop not being covered by copyright.
“The thematic elements that [the accusers] address — guns, money, and jewelry — are frequently present in Hip Hop and rap music,” Pacold wrote. “The commonality of these themes in Hip Hop and rap place [them] outside the protections of copyright law.”
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To illustrate that the ideas and narratives in question are “too common a narrative to be protectable,” she referenced the lyrical matter of Notorious B.I.G.’s “Machine Gun Funk,” Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me)” and Kanye West’s “Diamonds From Sierra Leone.”
About the central phrase of Future and Robinson’s songs being nearly identical, she added: “It is a fragmentary expression that is commonplace in everyday speech and ubiquitous in popular music.”
Earlier this year, Future’s Freebandz Productions, LLC and Sony Music settled a lawsuit against a creative agency that shares the name of the rapper’s eighth studio album, High Off Life.
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The case was originally filed in October 2020 by High Off Life, LLC, an Atlanta-based company owned by independent artist, Z. Rich (real name Zach Richards). The company began selling High Off Life-branded clothing in 2009 before expanding into hosting concerts and offering creative services locally.
High Off Life, LLC also shares Hip Hop-centered content to a YouTube channel called High Off Life TV. According to Billboard, the company’s trademark infringement lawsuit claimed that the marketing campaign supporting Future’s album made the small firm nearly impossible to locate online.
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“Overnight, Defendants destroyed HOL’s investment of many years and many thousands of dollars into building consumer recognition,” it said.
