Judge dismisses copyright lawsuit against Future
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Last week, a judge dismissed a copyright lawsuit against Future, according to reports.
DaQuan Robinson, a lesser-known rapper from Virginia, accused Future of copying his track “When U Think About It,” which he claimed he sent to the famous artist’s team.
Robinson alleged Future’s 2018 track “When I Think About It” featured similar lyrics regarding the theme of guns, money, and jewelry. Additionally, both songs reportedly expressed a theme about overcoming adversity.
Judge Martha Pacold addressed the lawsuit in written court documents, stating the topics are commonly present in hip hop music. “The commonality of these themes in hip hop and rap place [them] outside the protections of copyright law,” she stated.
Pacold used specific lyrics from The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Machine Gun Funk,” Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me),” and Kanye West’s “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” as an example, Billboard stated.
Furthermore, the judge cited Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s “Our House” and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby as examples of these themes being used frequently.
She also addressed Robinson’s claim that he sent a draft of his song to Future’s producer before the release of “When I Think About It.” Pacold ruled that it did not matter when the draft was sent because even if Future did borrow them, that specific set of lyrics was not covered in the copyrights.
“Where elements of a work are indispensable, or at least standard, in the treatment of a given topic, they receive no protection,” Pacold stated in the documents.
The lawsuit claimed Future’s lyric “when I think about it” infringed on Robinson’s “when you think about it.” However, the Judge ruled that a simple phrase could not be owned by any one artist.
The case was dismissed due to the lack of similarities, but Robinson has the option of filing an appeal in court.
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