In Da Club, In The Clear

A Miami judge has dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit against 50 Cent that claimed the artist stole lyrics for his song “In Da Club” from a 1994 Luther Campbell song titled “It’s Your Birthday.”

U.S. District Judge Paul Huck decided October 27th that the lyric, “Go shorty, it’s your birthday,” – originally found in Campbell’s song using “Sheila” rather than “shorty” – was a “common, unoriginal and noncopyrightable element of the song,” and did not fall within the parameters of copyright protection law.

The lawsuit was filed against the rapper in Miami court in January by Lil’ Joe Wein Music, which holds copyrights to music produced by Campbell and his former rap group, 2 Live Crew.