Black PA speakers in a music room
Our Blog

Kanye West Sues for Copyright Infringement Over a Song From His 2013 Album Yeezus

Hungarian composer Gábor Presser has filed a $2.5 million lawsuit against rapper Kanye West for allegedly using one of his songs without permission in West’s “New Slaves” from the album Yeezus, which was released in 2013.

June 07, 2016

Home » Blog » Kanye West Sues for Copyright Infringement Over a Song From His 2013 Album Yeezus

Hungarian composer Gábor Presser has filed a $2.5 million lawsuit against rapper Kanye West for allegedly using one of his songs without permission in West’s “New Slaves” from the album Yeezus, which was released in 2013. Filed in the Southern District Court of New York, the complaint alleges that West improperly sampled “Gyongyhaju Lany,” a song Presser composed for Hungarian rock band Omega in the sixties. The suit states that West “knowingly and intentionally misappropriated” the song, which he calls “one of the most beloved songs ever in Hungary and across Eastern Europe.”

West did reach out to him about using it prior, and he initially agreed in anticipation of a formal licensing agreement, which never came. West then sent Presser a $10,000 advance, and Presser says that he never cashed it. He also says that he hasn’t been paid since then. “Gyongyhaju Lany” can be heard at the end of “New Slaves.”

West, who rose to fame in the early 2000’s as a music producer working with classic soul samples, is no stranger to copyright suits. He was sued in 2013 by the estate of David Pryor over the use of a little known 1974 song called “Bumpin’ Bus Stop.” Pryor’s group Thunder & Lightning sang it, and it was allegedly sampled without permission in West’s 2005 hit “Gold Digger,” for part of the song’s popular refrain. Interestingly enough, most people recognize “Gold Digger” as a sample of Ray Charles’s “I Got a Woman.” West eventually settled. Singer Rick Spicer also sued him for copyright infringement over Yeezus’s “Bound 2,” for the allegedly unauthorized sampling of the Ponderosa Twins Plus One’s “Bound.” Spicer sang the chorus when he was 12 years old, which can be heard throughout “Bound 2.”

Complementary 15 Minute Consultation The Fried Firm Logo

Where creative minds come together

This suit by Presser is the latest in a line of recent high-profile copyright cases involving songs. Last year, Robin Thicke lost a case against Marvin Gaye’s estate over whether he and collaborator Pharrell Williams copied from the soul singer’s “Got to Give it Up,” for their 2013 hit “Blurred Lines.” A California jury awarded the estate millions. Legendary band Led Zeppelin is in the midst of a copyright infringement lawsuit over the classic “Stairway to Heaven,” after a trustee of the band Spirit filed a lawsuit in 2014, claiming that it was a copy of “Taurus.” Last month, a federal judge dismissed a motion for summary judgment from members of Led Zeppelin in part, because there were similarities in the pitch of a commonly used bass line, how often it was played, and how a bridge was used, in both songs. He ruled that it should be up to a jury to decide whether the similarities are substantial enough to warrant a finding of infringement.

For more updates on copyright cases, stay tuned to The Fried Firm blog.