Jay Z and Timbaland will testify in their ‘Big Pimpin’ court case.
The pair sampled a flute line by composer Baligh Hamdi as the hook for their 2000 hit, but the nephew of the composer, Osama Ahmed Fahmy, filed a lawsuit in 2007 insisting he should receive a cut of the profits following the composer’s death in 1993.
Timbaland originally believed the song was in the public domain when he sampled the track although later paid $100,000 to EMI when he learned it wasn’t, with the label claiming it owned the rights to the tune.
However, Osama later filed his suit in a federal court in California against EMI, Universal Music, Paramount Pictures and MTV over the song’s use in films and specials.
And while court documents indicate Baligh’s heirs were given a "lump-sum buyout", the defendants also insist Osama "gave up exclusive control of all rights" for the song in the US with a 2002 agreement.
Nevertheless, the composer’s nephew claims the agreement does not include the way licensing contracts are administered with respect to moral rights in Egypt, where he is from, and believes the pair did not reveal all of the ways the song, titled ‘Khosara Khosara’, would be used and modified.
According to The Hollywood Reporter website, the case will begin on October 13.
Jay Z and Timbaland to testify in court case
