USA: Simmons v. Stanberry, United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, No. 14-3106-cv, 15 January 2016

A copyright claim brought by hip-hop artist Tyrone Simmons—who purchased an exclusive license to use a beat known as the “I Get Money Instrumental”—against the beat’s creator (William Stanberry, Jr.) and a group of defendants associated with rapper Curtis Jackson, known professionally as “50 Cent,” who used the beat in a hit song, was time-barred because the claim was for copyright ownership, not copyright infringement, the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York City has decided (Simmons v. Stanberry, January 15, 2016, per curiam). A March 2012 decision of the federal district court in New York City was affirmed.

A full summary of this case has been published on Kluwer IP Law.