Daddy Yankee, Black Eyed Peas, and Sony Music have filed a notice of motion to dismiss the third cause of action for fraud in a copyright infringement complaint filed against the hit single “Bailar Contigo.”
Iceberg Records of Denmark filed the action in March 2024 in a federal court in California. The lawsuit claims that the trio illegally sampled the 1994 dance track “Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop).” The song was recorded in 1995 by Scatman John, who died in 1999.
On the master side, the plaintiff owns the song, and Iceberg Records owns 50% of the publishing rights to the work. Prior to the release of the Black Eyed Peas’ Elevation, the plaintiff and defendants purportedly reached an agreement for the use of the “Scatman” composition in “Bailar Contigo.”
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The defendants filed a request with the court on July 7 informing the judge that they will move to dismiss the complaint’s third cause of action for fraud in August. “This motion is made on the grounds that pursuant to Rule 9 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Complaint fails to state with particularity the circumstances constituting fraud, and therefore fails to state a claim.”
The track, which includes Daddy Yankee, has over 70 million Spotify streams. The original agreement stated, “We hereby agree to the use of extracts from the composition,” with Iceberg Records receiving a 75% compositional stake and a 5% master income interest in “Bailar Contigo” as part of the arrangement. The initial lawsuit claims that the Black Eyed Peas, Daddy Yankee, and Sony Music “lied” about not using the material to avoid paying the licensing price.
Iceberg Records sued the defendant for direct and contributory infringement, as well as fraud, and sought damages, attorney’s fees, and other remedies. The next hearing in this matter is scheduled for August 2, 2024. Iceberg Records and Sony Music have declined to comment on the planned action.
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