Shadrach Winstead, an author based out of New Jersey, is in the process of suing rapper 50 Cent over his movie and album Before I Self Destruct.
According to Winstead, 50 Cent stole the idea for Before I Self Destruct from his book entitled “The Preacher’s Son-But The Streets Turned Me Into A Gangster.” The lawsuit against 50 Cent was filed in a United States District Court of New Jersey and it is unclear how much Winstead is seeking from the rapper.
On top of an undisclosed amount for damages Winstead is also suing for any profits from both the Before I Self Destruct album and movie.
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“The defendant infringed the copyright by publishing and selling an audio visual work (a movie released in DVD format), coupled with an audio recording (“recordings”),” said Winstead in his complaint, according to AllHipHop.com. “In many cases, the content and word choice used by Defendants in their work is identical to that used in Plaintiff’s book.”
Neither 50 Cent nor a rep for the rapper has responded publicly to Winstead’s lawsuit.
[November 10, 2010]
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UPDATE: Yesterday afternoon, the copyright infringement lawsuit against 50 Cent and his record companies was dismissed in Federal Court in Newark, New Jersey.
According to a press release, plaintiff Shadrach Winstead claimed Fif stole the concept for the Before I Self Destruct film and album from his autobiography titled “The Preacher’s Son.” He also claimed that lines were taken verbatim from the book.
50’s lawyer Reed Smith moved to dismiss the allegations based on absence of substantial similarity between the book and film. Judge Chesler agreed and dismissed the complaint.
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