It looks like Beyoncé and Jay Z will be closing out 2015 in grand style after a New York City judge recently ruled in their favor regarding a lawsuit brought against them over Bey’s hit “Drunk In Love.”
A Hungarian singer named Mitsou named the power couple in a suit for using her song, 1997’s “Gyspy Life On The Road,” without her permission. According to Mitsou’s lawsuit, her song is a “constitutionally protected work of art” that was digitally manipulated and sampled though she never signed off its usage.
The twist to the case is that there is no dispute that her song was used at the beginning of Knowles’ monster hit, but Judge Cynthia Kern still found in favor of “Bey Z” because of a technical error on Mitsou’s part.
Judge Kern dismissed Mitsou’s suit because she sued Bey and Jay citing the Civil Rights Law which protects a “name, portrait, picture or voice used for advertising or trade purposes without written consent,” but in this case it was ruled not applicable, according to the New York Post.
“It is undisputed that the ‘Drunk in Love’ song and video are works of artistic expression and, pursuant to well-established law, they are therefore exempted from the Civil Rights Law,” Kern said while handing down her decision.
No word yet on whether Mitsou plans to appeal or possibly re-file her lawsuit under a more common copyright precedent.
