Ain’t Worried About Nothin

French Montana Lands Partial Victory In Lawsuit Over “Ain’t Worried About Nothin’”

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French Montana has secured a partial victory in the lawsuit regarding his 2013 hit, “Ain’t Worried About Nothin’.” Judge Nancy L. Maldonado of the Northern District of Illinois granted the rapper a summary motion to three of his five issues against producer Eddie Lee Richardson in a ruling, late last week. Richardson sued Montana for allegedly copying his copyrighted instrumental song, “Hood Pushin’ Weight.”

Despite the victory in those areas, Maldonado also denied Montana’s claim that “any infringement was innocent or not willful.” The judge stated that Richardson’s claim for damages is still applicable in the 378 live performances of the song since April 2016. Unfortunately for Richardson, Montana claims that he made no money off of the live performances of the song in question.

French Montana At Coachella In 2018

INDIO, CA – APRIL 15: French Montana performs onstage during the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival Weekend 1 at the Empire Polo Field on April 15, 2018 in Indio, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Coachella)

Maldonado explained that the issue is whether a copyright holder “has an exclusive right to public performance of his copyright depends on whether his work is registered as a ‘sound recording’ or a ‘musical composition.’ While [the] plaintiff can pursue a claim based on distribution of his work under either type of registration, if plaintiff only has a ‘sound recording’ copyright, then he can only maintain a copyright infringement action for performances of his work by ‘digital audio transmission.’”

Tyiase Hasan, who represents Richardson, wasn’t entirely happy with the result. He explained that Richardson had already conceded the three points in the lawsuit. “The infringement here is as plain as day,” he told Law360. Dariush Adli of Adli Law Group PC, who represents Montana, recently told Law360: “We believe the jury will likely not find the infringement to have been willful because the undisputed evidence shows that plaintiff reached out to French only once, in 2013, about potential [infringement] and that French referred him to the music producer, Rico Love.” He added, “However, plaintiff did not sue Rico Love because the 3 years statute of limitations had run on that claim.”

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French Montana Secures Partial Victory In The Lawsuit Surrounding His 2013 Song ‘Ain’t Worried About Nothin’

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French Montana SiriusXM Studios 2023
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French Montana spends a lot of time tied up in litigation. Late last month, the “Keep It Real” rapper was hit with a civil lawsuit for $50,000 over a shooting that occurred on the set of one of his music videos. Although no major updates have taken place in that case, another one of the cases he’s battling has shifted in his favor.

Back in 2019, the rapper was sued for intellectual property infringement that claimed his 2013 song “Ain’t Worried About Nothin’” stole the instrumental from Eddie Lee Richardson (professionally known as Hotwire the Producer). However, in documents exclusively retrieved by HipHopDX, the judge presiding over the case, Nancy L. Maldonadom, has partially ruled in Montana’s favor.

Maldonado granted a summary motion to three of his five issues against producer Richardson. The judge did, however, deny the rapper’s request to rule that “any infringement was innocent or not willful.” The outlet notes that Richardson had conceded three of the five points in the lawsuit, and the judge’s summary motion leaves Montana to fight it out on the remaining two points (public performance with the instrumental and derivative works).

Tyiase Hasan, the representative for Richardson told Law360 piece, “There were no objections, and the parties were already in agreement.” adding, “the infringement here is as plain as day.”

On the other side, Dariush Adli, who represents Montana, said, “We believe the jury will likely not find the infringement to have been willful because the undisputed evidence shows that plaintiff reached out to French only once, in 2013, about potential [infringement] and that French referred him to the music producer, Rico Love.” He added, “However, plaintiff did not sue Rico Love because the 3 years statute of limitations had run on that claim.”