On Wednesday, September 3rd, Judge Andrew Carter in the Southern District of New York, denied a motion to dismiss filed by Jay-Z & Roc-A-Fella Records seeking to end a contractual dispute.
The dispute arises from an alleged agreement between Roc-A-Fella records and the plaintiff, Dwayne D. Walker, Jr., that was formed in 1995. Dwayne Walker claims that he agreed to design and license the Roc-A-Fella logo to the record label for $3,500 and 2% of all revenue from the sale of items carrying it for 10 years, payable at the end of that period. Walker applied for copyright registration of the logo he helped design and received it in 2010. Two years later, when he did not receive payment under the contract, he filed this lawsuit, seeking $2 million in royalties, or alternatively, damages for copyright infringement.
The defendants, including the founding owners of Roc-A-Fella records, Jay-Z, Damon Dash, and Kareem Burke, filed a motion to dismiss the complaint. In ruling solely on the facts pleaded in the complaint, the judge held that Walker alleged facts sufficient to support a claim of breach of contract and copyright infringement.