An unknown singer/songwriter is taking producerTimbaland to court over a posthumous Michael Jackson song he believes infringes on his copyright.
Sidney Earl Swanson claims the track Chicago, from Jackson’s recent Xscape album, is a rip off of his own 2002 tune, Come Home On the Move.
According to the complaint, filed in Los Angeles federal court this week (ends26Sep14), Swanson’s lawyer writes, “Defendants copied and incorporated substantial, original portions of the infringed composition in (Chicago).”
He is suing for damages from Timbaland, songwriter Cory Rooney, and bosses at Jackson’s firm MJJ PRoductions and its parent company Sony Music Holdings, and is seeking an injunction to halt the continued sale of the track.
Xscape, which features eight previously unheard tunes recorded before the King of Pop’s death in 2009, was released in May (14). The songs were updated by a range of top producers including Timbaland and Rodney Jerkins.
SOURCE: Contact Music
