Posted By: C. Harrison/7/19/2014/7:02pm
R&B Singer And Songwriter Lee Hutson challenged Bad Boy Entertainment/Estate of the late Notorious B.I.G. and won the first strike on his Copyright Infringement Lawsuit
(New York, NY)…. Lee Hutson, former lead singer of the farmed lead vocal group The Impression, after Curtis Mayfield, as well as a successful solo artist, has won round one of his multimillion dollar copyright infringement lawsuit action against Bad Boy Entertainment, the estate of the late Notorious B.I.G. (aka Biggie Smalls) and music producer Easy Mo Bee, for unauthorized use of a sample on Biggie’s 1994 hit “The What,” from his multi-platinum debut album, Ready To Die.” The song utilizes a sample from Hutson’s 1973 song “Can’t Say Enough About Mom,” as admitted under oath by its producer, Easy Mo Bee (Osten Harvey Jr.), who acknowledged that he did not have permission, but that he informed Bad Boy that he had used it.
According to an Immediate Release from ELG Entertainment Law Group, Hutson reached out to Diddy, owner of Bad Boy Entertainment, to resolve the matter amicably in 2012 when it was brought to his attention, but received no response. On the contrary, with the knowledge that Hutson was seeking remedy for the unauthorized use of the song sample; Staci Riordan of Rothschild, lawyers for the estate of Biggie Smalls and the other co0defendants, responded in early 2014, by attempting a preemptive legal strike in a California court against Hutson, challenging his right to pursue legal action regarding “The What,” alleging, among other jurisdictional claims, that the sample used in the song is short adapted and supplemented. Additionally, the smalls estate’s attorneys openly acknowledged the use of portions of Hutson’s song in “The What,” but argued that it was a non-infringing use.
Moreover, upon the challenge, two business days later, Mr. Hutson formally filed his lawsuit for copyright infringement in a New York court, along with filing a Motion to Dismiss or Transfer the preemptive legal action Hutson ‘s Motion to Dismiss the California case.
The outcome of Hutson’s Motion to Dismiss was a victory for the talented soul man. A California judge granted his motion, dismissing the case by the Smalls estate in its entirety. With the challenge by the Biggie Smalls estate now nonexistent, Hutson’s copyright infringement lawsuit is now moving forward within the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, in Manhattan. He is represented in the matter by attorneys Alan Clarke, Kendall Minter, Joseph Porter 111 (CA) and Anthony Motta/Motta & Kents (NY).
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