Jay Z wins 'Big Pimpin' copyright infringement case

The US district ruled that Osama Fahmy 'lacked standing to pursue his claim'

A US district Judge has dismissed the lawsuit against Jay-Z and Timbaland stemming from their 1999 single “Big Pimpin’”.

Osama Fahmy began the legal process of suing the pair in 2007, claiming they had sampled his uncle’s song “Khosara Khosara” without permission from the family, thereby infringing on their moral rights under Egyptian law.

Judge Christina Snyder ruled that Fahmy lacked the right to pursue a copyright infringement claim, ending a week-long trial that could have gone to federal court.

“Fahmy lacked standing to pursue his claim. In light of that decision, it will not be necessary to submit to the jury whether “Big Pimpin’” infringed “Khosara Khosara”,” she said, according to The Guardian. It was ruled that Egyptian moral law did not apply to the case.

JAY Z (Getty)

“Khosara Khosara” was written and performed by Baligh Hamdi and sung by Abdel Halim Hafez, both of whom are dead.

Pete Ross, Fahmy’s attorney, said: “We think it’s completely wrong, and we’ll appeal.”

Conversely, Jay-Z’s attorney, Christine Lepera, said: “We and our clients obviously are very pleased with this decision. The court correctly ruled that the plaintiff had no right to bring this case and cannot pursue any claim of infringement in connection with Big Pimpin’ whatsoever.”

According to the rapper, he had originally paid $100,000 to EMI Music Arabia for the sample in 2001.

Earlier on in the trial, he reportedly “forgot” he owned the streaming service Tidal while in court.

“I make music, I'm a rapper, I’ve got a clothing line, I run a label, a media label called Roc Nation, with a sports agency, music publishing and management. Restaurants and nightclubs ... I think that about covers it,” he told the court.

There was a pause before Andrew Bart, his lawyer, prompted: "I’m not so sure. You have a music streaming service, don’t you?"

"Yeah, yeah. Forgot about that," Jay-Z reportedly deadpanned.