Hungarian folk singer, Mitsou (real name Monika Miczura Juhasz), just took an L by way of The Carters. She sued the couple, because she claimed that they used a sample of her 1997 song “Gypsy Life on the Road” and manipulated her vocals for their steamy, Grammy-nominated hit “Drunk In Love”. The singer says that she noticed that Beyonce pulled an Ursula after her friends started singing the high-pitched intro to the song.
According to Page Six, Mitsou sued for an unspecified amount in monetary damages, but she bemoans that “blatant unauthorized use of [her] voice for trade purposes is causing irreparable harm and emotional distress.” Unfortunately for Mitsou, the judge ruled in favor of The Carters, citing that Drunk In Love is a “constitutionally protected work of art”, so she lost the battle…and then she lost war.
Page Six reports:
“Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Cynthia Kern tossed the case because Mitsou was suing under the state Civil Rights Law, which only PROTECTS a “name, portrait, picture or voice used for advertising or trade purposes without written consent.” Kern wrote that “courts have consistently held that Civil Rights Law does not apply to works of literary and artistic expression.”
“The judge also didn’t buy Mitsou’s argument that the Civil Rights Law APPLIES to the song and video because they were used in HBO ads and a series promoting Beyoncé’s concert tour.
That use “does not vitiate their character as works of artist expression,” Kern wrote.
Clearly this judge is a Bey stan!
TSR Intern: Talia O. @theclosetratchet on Instagram & @tallyohhh on Twitter!
Source Cited: http://pagesix.com/2015/12/18/beyonce-and-jay-z-win-drunk-in-love-sampling-suit/
