Normally I would be a bit outraged at the casting of another silly lawsuit, especially one that made it all the way to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. But this one was just too much fun to pass up. 5th Circuit Rules in Rappers* Battle Over Phrase *Back That Ass Up*.
Seems that two gentlemen came out with songs that contained the memorable phrase at about the same time. One of them sold 4 million copies and the other…. Well, ets just say he didn*t exactly get his bling bling.
After a 2003 trial, a jury ruled in favor of defendant Juvenile, finding that D.J. Jubilee failed to prove that his version of “Back That Ass Up” was substantially similar to Jubilee*s version of “Back That Azz Up.”
D.J. Jubilee appealed to the 5th Circuit, arguing that many of the jury instructions were flawed, including instructions on substantial similarity, specifically when applied to the use of the phrase “back that ass up.”
Juvenile believed that the songs were substantially different and used different hooks; D.J. Jubilee*s hook was the phrase “back that ass up” while Juvenile*s was a sample from the Jackson 5*s song “I Want You Back.” But D.J. Jubilee believed the jury should have been instructed to review specific portions of both songs, rather than both songs as a whole, according to the 5th Circuit*s opinion.
Now, can someone please get Tom Brokaw to read this story into a microphone somewhere? I would give my platinum plated teeth to hear it.
