A copyright lawsuit against Ghostface Killah and Sony saw new life today, as the 2nd Circuit Court Of Appeals gave composer Jack Urbont another shot at proving his claims.
Urbont is the composer of the Iron Man theme for 60’s show The Marvel Super Heroes.
The origin of the lawsuit stems from two tracks from Ghostface’s classic 2000 album Supreme Clientele that samples the staple theme song.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the copyright lawsuit has been ongoing for five years with Sony initially coming out on top, as U.S. District Court judge Naomi Reice Buchwald determined that Urbont’s work constituted a “work made for hire.”
This “work for hire” classification was the central point of the ongoing legal controversy, as it claimed that Urbont does not own the rights to his work and can not claim the copyright to the song.
Under this classification Marvel would have the claim of copyright, and according to Buchwald the theme was “developed to Marvel’s specifications and for Marvel’s approval.”
Ultimately the 2nd Circuit Court Of Appeals found that the audiovisual work owned by Marvel would be the at the center of the copyright claim, since the theme was not released as an independent audio recording prior to Ghostface’s usage.
Check out Ghostface’s songs using the sample and the original recording below.
[VIA AllHipHop News]