Jamaican artist Cutty Ranks has spoken out against what he describes as a longstanding practice by some Reggaetón artists of translating Dancehall songs into Spanish and passing them off as their own.
One hundred and seven of the almost 170 defendants in Steely & Clevie Productions' copyright lawsuit filed three motions on Thursday (June 15) to dismiss the case.
Canadian rapper Drake and Puerto Rican Reggaeton star Bad Bunny are among the dozens of new artists, producers, and record labels recently added to the copyright infringement lawsuit brought by the Jamaican company Steely & Clevie Productions, according to court records obtained by DancehallMag.
Two US-based lawyers have offered their views on Steely & Clevie Productions’ copyright lawsuit against Panamanian artist and producer El Chombo, Puerto Rican artists Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, and a slew of other Reggaeton artists, producers, and record companies.
Steely & Clevie Productions Ltd says that, despite its best efforts, it has been unable to effect service of its copyright infringement complaint on some of the Defendants, all of whom, it is alleged, infringed on the Dancehall production company’s Fish Market riddim, better known as Dem Bow.
Steely & Clevie Productions’ copyright lawsuit against Luis Fonsi, of Despacito fame, appears to have mushroomed into an all-out legal assault on Reggaetón after multiple lawsuits against some of the genre’s biggest hitmakers were consolidated into a single action.