Lawsuit over Shakira's 'Loca' thrown out by federal judge

A New York federal judge has just thrown out a copyright infringement suit filed against Sony over Shakira's hit song "Loca."

United States District Judge Alvin Hellerstein decided to toss the case after discovering that one of the plaintiff's key pieces of evidence, a cassette tape that allegedly contained Ramon Arias Vasquez's original recording of the song, was fake.

"Here was a basic issue of fraud in the trial," Judge Hellerstein bluntly told Reuters.

This ruling is a complete reversal of of case's previous results in 2014, when Judge Hellerstein found Sony/ATV Latin and Sony/ATV Discos guilty of copyright infringement and liable for damages.

This August, however, Sony brought new evidence to the table that proved that the cassette previously claimed to have been recorded in 1998, was a fake. Once that came to light, Hellerstein said, he lost faith in the entirety of the plaintiff's testimony.

The claim was first filed in 2012 by Mayimba Music, an indie music publisher know for administering Romeo Santos' songs. They claimed that "Loca" was a rip-off of a song called "Loca con su Tiguere" which Arias Vasquez had originally written in the mid 90s. 

In his testimony to the court, Arias Vasquez sung the song, and spoke of how, eight years ago, he'd met El Cata, the Dominican singer who wrote Shakira's hit song, and shared several songs with him, one of which was "Loca con su Tiguere."

If someone is accusing you unfairly profiting off of their work without their permission, it's important to contact a skilled business attorney as soon as possible. A lawyer can help protect your rights in case of litigation, and get you just compensation.

Categorised in: Entertainment Law

This post was written by