Eddie Richardson v. Karim Kharbouch

Chicago, Illinois copyright lawyers represented the parties in a dispute over ownership of a song.



In 2012, sixteen-year-old Eddie Lee Richardson enjoyed making instrumental hip-hop beats and uploading them to the internet under the moniker Hotwire the Producer. One beat Richardson crafted is titled "*Hood* Pushin Weight” (HPW). The track has all the trappings of a successful hip-hop instrumental: deep percussion, rhythmic snare, and melodic detailing. Richardson made sure to identify himself as the creator of the beat by placing digital vocalizations of his professional moniker on the recording. But he did not copyright the track before uploading it to a music sharing website.



Months after creating HPW, Richardson unexpectedly recognized it in the background of a chart-topping hit. That hit was "Ain't Worried About Nothin” (AWAN) by rapper Karim Kharbouch, whose stage name is French Montana. Believing the rapper had copied his song, Richardson contacted him on social media and demanded credit for AWAN's beat.



Kharbouch responded only to tell Richardson to speak with Kharbouch's producer, Rico Love. Richardson ostensibly exchanged messages with Rico Love but has not presented a record of those communications.



The day after Richardson first heard AWAN, he registered a sound recording copyright of his creation, HPW, with the

United States Copyright Office. He did not obtain a musical composition copyright. Meanwhile, over time, AWAN be-

came a hit, ultimately ranking number one on the Billboard charts. Richardson sued Kharbouch under the Copyright Act in

2019. He alleged two counts of copyright infringement and sought proceeds from Kharbouch's live performances of the

song and as well as to permanently enjoin Kharbouch from performing the song.2 See 17 U.S.C. § 501.

Summary judgment in favor of the Defendant.



Affirmed