Missy Elliott to face copyright trial over allegedly not crediting a claimed co-writer

A federal judge has ordered Missy Elliott to face a copyright trial after a man alleges he co-wrote numerous tracks in the ‘90s with the artist without being credited.

As reported by Rolling Stone, Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro refused to dismiss the case which was filed on Monday, August 26, by Terry Williams.

On the other hand, the judge has dismissed allegations over one of the five songs in the dispute, ‘Heartbroken’ by Aaliyah.

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Four of the five tracks Williams claims to have co-written with Elliott were released by her ‘90s R&B group Sista, however, Elliott’s attorneys have argued that she did not meet Williams until after the songs had been produced.

Williams has responded to this claim alleging that he and Elliott worked together between 1993 and 1996 and that she had “refused” to credit him.

The songs in the lawsuit all appear on Sista’s 1994 release ‘4 All the Sistas Around Da World’.

“Considering these conflicting arguments and evidence, a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether Williams and Elliott were working together at the time of the production of the Sista album ‘4 All the Sistas Around Da World’ and whether Williams’ contributions to the Unpublished Songs were used on derivative songs released on the album,” the Judge has written, according to Rolling Stone.

Williams has also argued that he co-wrote Aaliyah’s song ‘Heartbroken’ from her 1996 album ‘One in a Million’ with Elliott, yet the judge dismissed this claim as Williams had known for almost two decades that his name was not in the song credits.

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“Williams commenced this action against Elliott on November 14, 2018, over twenty-two years after the release of Heartbroken. Under these circumstances, this Court further finds that Williams has failed to offer evidence that he exercised due diligence. As such, Williams’ co-ownership claim based on the song Heartbroken released by Aaliyah is barred by the three-year statute of limitations. Accordingly, Elliott’s motion for summary judgment is granted as to Williams’ co-ownership claim based on Aaliyah’s song ‘Heartbroken’,” Judge Alejandro also wrote.

Judge Alejandro has said that a jury will have to decide the outcome of the case which is headed toward a trial.

[Via: Rolling Stone]

Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Multimedia Editor, follow her on Twitter