After four months of seeking a settlement, Ye (formerly Kanye West), along with his producer Ty Dolla $ign, have settled the copyright infringement lawsuit that Donna Summer’s family filed against them last February. The rapper used the 1997 song without permission I Feel Love of the late singer in goodone of the songs from his recently released album Vultures 1. In the court documents on the agreement filed last Thursday, June 20, which have now been accessed by American media such as People or Billboard, lawyers for both parties claim that they have reached a conciliation agreement, which is an end to the various claims. In addition, each party will bear its own expenses resulting from the judicial dispute. Kany West has also been forced to withdraw the song, which has been out of circulation since Friday, June 21 and is already excluded from the main music platforms, such as Spotify or Apple Music, although it can be found on YouTube from unofficial accounts.
After the presentation of the agreement, Larry Stein, lead attorney for the singer’s family, confirmed in the media Billboard, that the deal does not include permission for West, 47, to use future material from the late singer, who died in 2012 from lung cancer. “We did not license the song,” the judge stated in the American magazine, “as part of the agreement, they agreed not to distribute or otherwise use the song. So we got what we wanted.” Kanye West’s representatives, for now, have not commented on the matter.
The final agreement comes just over four months after Donna Summer’s heirs filed the complaint, and after fulfilling the threats that they themselves published on social networks: “Kanye West asked for permission to use the song I Feel Lovebut it was denied… He changed the lyrics, had someone re-sing it, or used AI, but it’s I Feel Love… It is an infringement of copyright,” explained Bruce Sudano, the artist’s widower and main manager of her assets, on his X account (formerly Twitter). Lawyers for the heirs in charge of managing the artist’s estate accused the singer of recording key parts of the song “word for word.”
In documents filed last February, Summer’s family clarified that “this lawsuit goes beyond the mere fact that the defendants failed to pay the appropriate licensing fee for using another person’s music property.” “It is also about the rights of artists to decide how their works are used and presented to the public, and the need to prevent someone from simply stealing creative works when they cannot guarantee the right to use them legally,” they concluded. The complaint also added that she had been denied permission to use the song because “they do not want any type of connection with West and her controversial history.”
Very similar is the case that has confronted Ye with the legendary rocker and former Black Sabbath singer, Ozzy Osbourne, who denied him permission to reproduce his song war pig. But on February 9, the heavy metal icon was informed that the rapper used part of another of his classics, Hombre de Hierro, for him Vultures 1. Outraged, Osbourne responded to West through his social networks with a message in which he explained the reasons for his monumental anger: “I denied him permission to sample “I’m not going to take my songs because he’s an anti-Semite and he’s caused a lot of people pain and trouble.” His wife Sharon Osbourne also said that Ye had “messed with the wrong Jew.” “It’s just that we don’t want to be associated with someone who makes hateful statements. Spreading hate, like he does, should not be allowed. All the excuses, that he’s bipolar or whatever, are useless. Fuck him!”
