Shenseea Battling Two Lawsuits Over Copyright Infringement

Jamaican singer Shenseea is battling two separate copyright lawsuits in the United States, claiming—in both cases—that if any infringement occurred, it was “innocent,” and therefore, the damages should be limited. 

“It will be interesting to see how [these cases] progress, not just because of Shenseea,” Jamaican entertainment attorney Roderick Gordon told DancehallMag.  “The legal issues go to the heart of the rapid development of trends through imitation and reposting on social platforms.”

In a California court, visual artist Stephanie Sarley has accused the Blessed singer and her label Interscope Records (a division of Universal Music) of ripping off three of her ‘artistic’ Instagram videos, which depict the sexualized handling of bisected fruit.  The three clips allegedly appeared in the original music video for Shenseea’s 2019 song Foreplay, which has since been removed from YouTube.

In a joint court filing last Thursday (February 9), Sarley and Shenseea’s lawyers told Judge Fernando M. Olguin that they anticipated the trial lasting 2-3 days, with a proposed start date on April 9, 2024, and with a total of three witnesses for Sarley and five witnesses for Shenseea.

Shenseea and Interscope have claimed that any infringement was “innocent” on their part, because the Foreplay video was uploaded to Shenseea’s YouTube account by a “third-party distributor” without their knowledge or involvement.

Sarley is demanding actual damages and profits from the three alleged infringements, or alternatively, $150,000 in statutory damages for each infringement.  But, Shenseea and Interscope contend that if Sarley is able to prove infringement, then statutory damages would be limited to “as little as $200” for each of the three videos. 

Speaking on the Sarley suit, Gordon said the potential damages in the case are not clear-cut.

“The response by the Defendants essentially put the Plaintiff to proof; it also skillfully asserts ‘innocent’ (as opposed to deliberate) publication of the allegedly offending video.  Therefore if, in fact, the Plaintiff is able to prove registered copyright capable of protection from infringement, Universal Music and Shensea are claiming, ‘It wasn’t me!’” Gordon said. 

“While that may sound trite, it is an important assertion that goes to potential damages if, in fact, the Court finds infringement. Wilful infringement is treated more harshly than ‘innocent’ infringement.”

“The assertion that the video was uploaded by a third party seems to imply that the Defendants would not have infringed, had they themselves known and it is unfair to hold that they have done so, strictly speaking,” Gordon continued.

Meanwhile, in a New York court, producer Anastas ‘Pupa Nas-T’ Hackett has alleged that the singer and her label released Lick, which sampled elements from his song Work, without his consent in January 2022. 

Hackett had demanded over $10 million in copyright and wilful infringement damages in the lawsuit.  However, without admitting to any infringement, Shenseea and Interscope’s claimed, among other things, that his “damages, if any, are limited because the alleged infringement was innocent.”

Shenseea and Interscope argued that there was a “months-long, good faith negotiation” for the use of the producer’s song, according to court records obtained by DancehallMag.

They alleged that it was not until February 2022, after they reached an agreement with Hackett for $5,000 in advance and a percentage of Lick’s royalties, that the producer refused to sign the written contract and, instead, sought to renegotiate the terms.

Hackett, who said he was not paid the advance, filed the lawsuit in March 2022.

On Friday (February 10), Shenseea and Hackett filed a joint letter, telling the Court that they “believe that early settlement is possible” and requested a referral to Magistrate Judge Cott to begin formal talks ahead of trial.

The singer’s lawyers also told the Court that if they were unable to resolve the matter at the settlement conference with Judge Cott, they anticipated filing a motion for summary judgment, “given that the license issue is so clearly determinative in this case.”

“Admittedly, Plaintiff ultimately refused to sign the written license agreement, but no such writing is necessary to form an enforceable copyright license for non-exclusive rights, particularly where—as here—there is evidence of a clear agreement between the parties as to all material terms,” Shenseea’s lawyers noted in the joint letter.

Lick, which appeared on her debut album Alpha, is Shenseea’s highest-charting song in the United States as a lead artist. It peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.

The original Foreplay video was first released in October 2019, after Shenseea signed with Interscope Records and Rvssian‘s Rich Immigrants in May of that year.

Shenseea and Interscope are being represented by Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in New York, and Ballard Spahr LLP in California.  

Sarley is being represented by Pietz & Shahriari, LLP, while Hackett is yet to appoint a new attorney and is currently representing himself.