{"id":1681,"date":"2017-02-09T13:07:32","date_gmt":"2017-02-09T18:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/jsel\/?p=1681"},"modified":"2023-07-25T11:56:24","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T15:56:24","slug":"beyonce-to-get-lawyers-in-formation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/jsel\/2017\/02\/beyonce-to-get-lawyers-in-formation\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyonc\u00e9 to Get Lawyers in \u201cFormation\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"6481981453_677c3393e3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As reported by Law360<\/a>, the estate of deceased YouTube performer, Anthony Barr\u00e9, has filed a suit against Beyonc\u00e9 and Sony Music Entertainment seeking $20 million in damages as well as declaratory and injunctive relief for copyright infringement. The complaint alleges that the pop star sampled phrases from Barr\u00e9\u2019s YouTube videos in her 2016 chart-topping hit \u201cFormation.\u201d Barr\u00e9 gained a following on YouTube under the name \u201cMessy Mya\u201d before he was murdered in New Orleans in 2010. According to the complaint filed in the Eastern District Court of Louisiana<\/a>, the opening line of the \u201cFormation\u201d music video, \u201cWhat happened at the New Orleans,\u201d as well as another spoken line, are samples of Barr\u00e9\u2019s voice that were misappropriated by Beyonc\u00e9 and Sony. The complaint further alleges that recordings of Barr\u00e9\u2019s voice were featured throughout the live performances on the Formation World Tour.<\/p>\n

Beyonc\u00e9 is no stranger to copyright infringement suits. As reported by Hollywood Reporter<\/a>, a New York federal judge dismissed a suit last year which alleged that the star used elements of an independent filmmaker\u2019s short film in the \u201cLemonade\u201d visual album. This most recent lawsuit comes just days before the 59th Annual Grammy Awards<\/a>, where Beyonc\u00e9 is nominated for nine awards, three of which are for \u201cFormation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Libby Pica\u00a0is an Entertainment Highlight Contributor for the Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law and a current first year student at Harvard Law School (Class of 2019).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As reported by Law360, the estate of deceased YouTube performer, Anthony Barr\u00e9, has filed a suit against Beyonc\u00e9 and Sony Music Entertainment seeking $20 million in damages as well as declaratory and injunctive relief for copyright infringement. The complaint alleges that the pop star sampled phrases from Barr\u00e9\u2019s YouTube videos in her 2016 chart-topping hit 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