3 Count: Choppa Style

A different kind of musical lawsuit...

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Have any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday.

1: DJ Names Cardi B and French Montana in Copyright Suit

First off today, Saman Javed at World IP Review reports that Kirk Edwards, better known as DJ JMK, has filed a lawsuit against a variety of musicians, producers and record labels over alleged infringement of his 2000 instrumental song Choppa Style.

According to Edwards, musicians such as Cardi B, French Montana, Choppa, Master P and others used elements from his song without permission. Specifically, Edwards claims that he played the song in clubs around New Orleans and then began working with Darwin Turner, known as Choppa, to produce a new version of the song with lyrics. However, he then claims that Turner’s label then cut him out of the deal, hiring an in-house producer to create the instrumental.

From there, Edwards claims that other artists have made use of his instrumentals in various other tracks. That, in turn, is the reason for many of the other artists to be included.

2: Kim Dotcom Set to Mobilize Former Megaupload Users Against Joe Biden

Next up today, Andy at Torrentfreak writes that Kim Dotcom has said that he believes it will be many years before he is finally extradited to the United States (if he is at all) and that he will continue to use his position to needle at those that he sees as harming him.

Dotcom was arrested in January 2012 for his role in running the file sharing site Megaupload. Since then, the U.S. government has been attempting to extradite him from his home in New Zealand and the courts have largely sided with the U.S. The case was recently heard by the New Zealand Supreme Court, which is yet to issue a ruling.

However, Dotcom believes the case may be just halfway over. Even if the Supreme Court rejects his appeal, there are several other steps that he estimates could take another 5-7 years. In the meantime, he has threatened to use his email database from Megaupload to let his former users known that he believes Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden was one of the forces behind the site’s closure. He hopes the move will help keep Biden from winning the Presidency.

3: Billie Eilish Cancels Fashion Line After Designer Admits Plagiarism

Finally today, Robin Murray at Clash Music reports that Billie Eilish has been forced to cancel an upcoming fashion line after one of the designers involved with it was accused of and admitted to plagiarism.

The line was to be a collaboration between Eilish and Siberia Hills. However, shortly after it was released, fans noticed that the artwork featured on it closely mirrored that of another anime artist, Makoto Kurokawa.

After the allegations surfaced, internal conversations began and one of the designers involved in the project allegedly admitted to plagiarism. However, the team at Siberia Hills were adamant that neither Eilish nor anyone on her team was aware of or involved in the plagiarism. The line has since been removed.

The 3 Count Logo was created by Justin Goff and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

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