Greensleeves settles with Chris Brown over alleged song theft

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By Chris Cooke | Posted on Friday 9 September 2022
Uk-based music firm Greensleeves has settled a lawful struggle with Chris Brown and his label more than the allegations that the musician ripped off an previously song that it publishes on his 2017 single ‘Privacy’.
In a lawsuit filed with the courts in New York in July 2021, Greensleeves mentioned that ‘Privacy’ lifted a line from 1997 dancehall observe ‘Tight Up Skirt’, which was recorded by Pink Rat. “In creating the infringing work”, the lawsuit said, “[Brown] took the main musical feature of ‘Tight Up Skirt’ and used it prominently in the infringing work without having permission”.
As for what that “core musical feature” was, the lawsuit went on: “‘Tight Up Skirt’ and the infringing perform share a comparable major pinpointing characteristic. In both of those tracks, this is a melody containing the lyrics ‘hey your woman inna di tight upskirt’ and ‘hey you girl without the need of a limited upskirt’, respectively”.
“This comparable melody starts every chorus segment in both of those songs”, it included. “This shared structural placement is important and adds to the prominence of the equivalent melody in both equally songs”.
That both equally tracks shared that ingredient had been mentioned quite a few instances prior to the lawsuit becoming submitted, nevertheless Red Rat himself – who was not involved in the lawsuit – seemed very peaceful about it all.
He informed the Jamaica Observer in 2017: “Chris Brown, who is 1 of the most important pop stars globally, emotion the want to sample a piece of ‘Tight Up Skirt’, only displays how a lot he loves and respects Purple Rat and [the] catalogue. It also exhibits how significantly of a lover he is to the music”.
Meanwhile, when the primary track’s producer, Andrew Bradford, was requested about Greensleeves lawsuit, he questioned no matter whether the publisher even managed the legal rights in the earlier track.
Traditionally in the Jamaican songs business, the country’s studio producers also mainly acted as the labels signing up the legal rights in the audio they generated. Though they did then typically license those people legal rights to the likes of VP Documents and Greensleeves, which in the long run merged.
Which is how Greensleeves would have finished up publishing ‘Tight Up Skirt’. Although Bradford reported that he was likely to verify his previous contracts to see if it nonetheless had the rights. Because, experienced Greensleeves bought the $1.5 million or more in damages it was pushing for in its lawsuit, then presumably Bradford – and Red Rat also – would have preferred to share in that cash.
For their aspect, Brown’s authorized reps argued that the features shared by ‘Privacy’ and ‘Tight Up Skirt’ had been not secured by copyright in isolation, since they have been limited and commonplace, and that – in any case – Brown’s use of all those factors constituted reasonable use beneath US copyright law.
We’ll under no circumstances know if individuals arguments would have stood up in courtroom, for the reason that – according to Dancehallmag – the two sides in the dispute sent a letter to the court earlier this 7 days telling the decide that they “have attained a settlement in principle, which completely resolves the matter”.
Particulars of that settlement are not acknowledged. Neither party in the lawsuit – nor Red Rat or Bradford – have as but commented on the offer.
