Pitbull‘s song ‘I Feel Good’ has been at the centre of an infringement lawsuit by a company named All Surface Publishing.
The singer’s label, Mr. 305 Inc., was sued in a suit last week which saw the publishing company allege that Pitbull’s 2021 hit ‘I Feel Good’ infringed the copyright to Debonair Samir’s 2006 song ‘Samir’s Theme’, claiming that it featured “significant similarities.”
“The infringement is an exact copy of a discernible portion of plaintiff’s musical work that was copied,” read the lawsuit (as per Billboard). “When heard in real time, the descending lines of both songs appear to be almost identical.”
It also named DJ White Shadow (Paul Edward Blair), the producer and featured artist of Pitbull’s track and Universal Music Group as defendants. It claimed that Mr. 305 Inc. is a “fully owned subsidiary of UMG,” though it’s unclear if that is correct.
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The suit also alleged that back in 2011, Aaron LaCanfora – owner of All Surface Publishing – had sent ‘Samir’s Theme’ to Shadow who allegedly replied with “I love this song.”
‘I Feel Good’ peaked at Number Seven on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs and spent 27 weeks on the chart.
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The lawsuit came a few days after the ‘Hotel Room Service’ singer purchased the naming rights for the Florida International University Stadium, and renamed the venue as the Pitbull Stadium.
The singer will pay $1.2million (£1.03m) annually for the next five years to retain the naming rights of the on-campus venue. He will then be given the option in August 2029 to extend the deal for another five years if he wishes to continue the partnership.
NME has reached out to Pitbull’s representatives for comment.
In other Pitbull news, earlier this summer the recording artist responded after one of his songs was included in a steamy Bridgerton sex scene.
At the end of the fourth episode of the third season, an orchestral version of his 2011 song ‘Give Me Everything’ was used to soundtrack a climatic and romantic scene in the back of a carriage between Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton).
“This again shows the world how music is the international language that transcends over boundaries more so how a hit song can remain timeless,” he wrote afterwards.