The Daily Journal interviewed Manatt's Robert Jacobs, co-chair of the firm's Entertainment and Media Litigation practice, for an article on the ruling that ends eight years of complex litigation over whether the 1999 Jay Z hit Big Pimpin' infringed on the rights of an Egyptian song it samples.
The Daily Journal reports that U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder ruled that the plaintiff lacked standing to pursue his claim, thus obviating the need for the jury to decide if the works are substantially similar.
Jacobs said that it "was a little unusual that it took as long as it did to reach what was essentially a legal question."
Jacobs said he has appeared before Snyder in music infringement cases and described her as very deliberate. "She takes her time, and she's not a judge that typically makes decisions as a matter of law in those kinds of cases," he said. "I think she made the right decision."