Judge tosses most Kanye West Donda copyright claims

Most copyright claims just crumbled against Kanye West over his Donda album, but a sliver of the case survives heading into an April trial.

The bulk of ARA's infringement case gets axed

• Artist Revenue Advocates sued West back in July 2024.
• Judge Michelle Williams Court tossed the majority of claims.
• Hurricane and Moon were the two tracks in question.
• A February 20 mediation attempt went nowhere.

Ownership paperwork sank the composition claims

• ARA never secured a valid written copyright transfer.
• Federal law requires signed documentation for ownership conveyance.
• Oral agreements carry zero weight under the statute.
• Every composition-based claim got wiped in one move.

Sound recording sampling claims also fell flat

• Dr. Joe Bennett ran sample-detection tests on Hurricane.
• Results came back empty for MSD PT2's recording.
• Moon similarly showed no audiosampling of the track.
• Bennett teaches at Berklee College of Music.

Pre-release versions keep the case alive, though

• Early 80 Degrees demos did incorporate the actual recording.
• Listening party performances used MSD PT2 as well.
• ARA argues Apple deals made those versions commercial.
• West's implied license defense hit disputed facts.

Backstory involves a Dropbox link gone sideways

• Khalil Abdul Rahman shared MSD PT2 with producer Nascent.
• West's 80 Degrees Instagram post surfaced months afterward.
• Rahman and collaborators even got Grammy nominations from Donda.
• Formal composer credits were handed out for Hurricane.

West's legal team caught a judicial scolding

• Martorell Law APC repeatedly broke procedural court rules.
• Sanctions got floated if future filings miss compliance.
• Trial is penciled in for April 20 this year.
• Only the narrow pre-release claims reach that courtroom.