JAY-Z, Timbaland, And Ginuwine’s 2019 Copyright Lawsuit Officially Dismissed

JAY-Z, Timbaland, and Ginuwine have officially dodged a loss in their copyright lawsuit. As reported by Reuters, the hitmakers and their respective legal teams convinced a Manhattan federal judge to dismiss the 2019 case filed by soul musician Ernie Hines.

The suit went after the defendants for their alleged usage of Hines’ 1969 song, “Help Me Put Out The Flame (In My Heart).” Hines claimed the track of his was unlawfully used in “Paper Chase” by Hov and “Toe 2 Toe” by Ginuwine, both of which were co-created with Timbaland.

Judge Paul Oetken of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled on Monday (Sept. 25) that the part of “Help Me Put Out The Flame (In My Heart)” the 1990s songs allegedly copied “is not protected under copyright.” Oetken concluded that Hines’ work in this case cannot be protected because his intro — which is the piece referenced in the suit — is available in the public domain.

Judge Oetker cited a 2021 precedent-setting case (Clinton v. UMG Recordings), writing that Hines’ intro “adds only material that is not original enough to be copyrightable. Authors and artists cannot claim copyright in ‘the raw materials of art,’ such as ‘previous creative works that have fallen into the public domain,’ as well as ‘the basic building blocks of music, including tempo and individual notes.'”

Timbaland has a long list of collaborations with both Ginuwine and Jay, and the producer even recently engaged in a friendly debate with Pharrell about who made better hits with the 4:44 creator.

“‘Dirt Off Your Shoulder!’ You’ve done so many classics that you’re just going through your Rolodex right now,” Skateboard P said during Swizz Beatz’s recent star-studded birthday party. Timbaland attempted to shoot the praise back, saying, “Pharrell the prince!”

However, the Neptunes member put a cherry on top of the conversation by replying, “You heard what he said? And that’s why I’m gonna go ahead and drink my Sancerre. He said ‘prince,’ ’cause he’s the king.”

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