Judge Dismisses Copyright Suit Over Flo Milli's "Never Lose Me"
A federal judge has dismissed a copyright lawsuit over Flo Milli's hit "Never Lose Me", ruling that the man who brought the case does not own the rights to the beat it was built on.
Judge André Birotte Jr. dismissed the claims on Nov. 6, according to Billboard. The dismissal was entered without leave to amend, which means the plaintiff was not allowed to rewrite the claims and file them again.
The lawsuit was brought by Shamar Deal, a Baltimore-based artist. In 2019 he bought a beat called "Youu" through Traktrain, paying $200 for a 10-year exclusive license. An exclusive license gives one buyer sole rights to use a piece of music for a set period.
The producer, Gerreaux Katana, later licensed the same beat to Babyface Ray and 42 Dugg for their 2023 song "Ron Artest". Flo Milli then sampled that song, meaning she reused a short piece of it, in "Never Lose Me". Deal sued Flo Milli, Babyface Ray and 42 Dugg for copyright infringement.
The judge ruled that Deal does not hold rights to "Youu". Under copyright law, an exclusive license has to be signed by both parties. Traktrain never obtained Katana's signature, so the judge found the license was not valid.
Deal's attorney, Larry Zerner, said his client disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal to the Ninth Circuit, the federal appeals court that covers the western United States. David Given, the lawyer for Babyface Ray and their distributor EMPIRE, said his clients were grateful for the dismissal.
The song itself has already had a strong run on the charts. "Never Lose Me" peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, the weekly chart that ranks the most popular songs in the United States. The appeal is the next step, so the case is not yet over.
