CHICAGO, IL – A federal judge in Illinois has dismissed a lawsuit accusing French Montana of copyright infringement. Eddie Lee Richardson, also known as Hotwire The Producer, had claimed that French Montana’s hit song “Ain’t Worried About Nothin'” illegally sampled from his instrumental track “Hood Pushin’ Weight.” However, Judge Nancy L. Maldonado ruled that the similarities between the two songs were not enough to establish copyright infringement.
In her ruling, Judge Maldonado emphasized that the dismissal was a “technical win” for French Montana and should not be seen as a substantive victory. She expressed sympathy for Richardson’s situation and encouraged him to continue his musical endeavors armed with a better understanding of copyright law. The judge noted that if Richardson had secured a more complete set of intellectual property rights, the outcome might have been different.
Richardson filed the lawsuit in 2019, alleging that French Montana and others had stolen core elements from “Hood Pushin’ Weight” when they wrote “Ain’t Worried About Nothin’.” The song reached No. 14 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart in August 2013. However, the fatal flaw in the lawsuit was that Richardson only secured a copyright registration for the sound recording and not for the underlying musical composition.
Judge Maldonado explained that French Montana would have infringed “Hood Pushin’ Weight” only if he had directly sampled from it, but not if he had simply included similar musical elements. The judge highlighted the importance of registering a copyright for the musical composition, stating that it would have provided Richardson with stronger grounds for establishing infringement.
According to the judge, Richardson needed to provide evidence that French Montana or someone else involved in “Ain’t Worried About Nothin'” directly copied his actual recording into the new song. However, Richardson failed to do so, leading to the dismissal of the lawsuit.
Attorneys for both French Montana and Richardson have not yet commented on the judge’s decision.
In summary, a federal judge in Illinois has dismissed a lawsuit accusing French Montana of copyright infringement. The judge ruled that the similarities between the songs “Hood Pushin’ Weight” and “Ain’t Worried About Nothin'” were not enough to establish copyright infringement. The dismissal was a technical win for French Montana, who should not view it as a substantive victory. The judge expressed sympathy for the plaintiff and highlighted the importance of securing a copyright for the musical composition. Richardson failed to provide sufficient evidence of direct copying, leading to the dismissal of the lawsuit.