This past week, California District Court Judge Christina Snyder dismissed Dr. Dre’s claims that WIDEawake/Death Row illegally re-released his seminal debut The Chronic. The legendary producer took the newly reformed label to court this past February over the 2009 release of The Chronic: Re-Lit and from the Vault, claiming the label violated his rights of trademark and publicity.
In looking at whether the re-release’s changes were more than comestic, Judge Snyder ruled that the album’s alterations were “minor and inconsequential.” She even noted the re-use of the original album’s cover image in the re-release, thus avoiding implications that Dre endorsed the product.
Yet the Good Doctor didn’t totally lose out. Judge Snyder allowed his claims of remiss royalty payments to be heard. According to Dre, he has yet to receive a royalty check after his departure from Death Row in 1996. With WIDEawake/Death Row still profiting off of sales from The Chronic, the Re-Lit edition and a greatest hits album, Dre is suing the label for a minimum of $75,000.
Dr. Dre isn’t the only Death Row alum gracing the halls of justice with his presence. Former Death Row CEO Suge Knight has had his most recent gun charges dropped. Knight was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon last month after he apparently pointed a gun at another man during an argument. Los Angeles prosecutors are now declining to pursue charges against Knight because the LAPD have yet to recover the weapon in question.
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Knight isn’t out of legal hot water quite yet, however. During the court proceedings, one Elwood E. Chatman accused Knight of harassing he and his family. According to Chatman, Knight has threatened Chatman, his wife and son’s lives on multiple occasions. Chatman even opened case with the LAPD for an alleged assault on April 4, although he did not identify Knight as the assailant. Knight has since been ordered by the court to stay at least 100 yards away from Chatman.
