A judge has declined to rule on a copyright case that could affect almost every reggaeton song ever recorded.
The infectious ‘boom-ch-boom-chick’ percussion, known as the dembow rhythm, is at the centre of a controversial lawsuit that targets Bad Bunny, Karol G and more.
The rhythm is regarded a “sonic signpost” of the reggaeton genre that plays under almost every track.
For the past five years, it’s also been the subject of a sprawling lawsuit targeting more than a hundred artists over accusations that dembow was ripped from a single sample of a 1989 song.
The original track, Fish Market, is by reggae duo Steely & Clevie, who claim that nearly 2000 tracks have since infringed copyright.
Lawyers for the defendants, who also include Pitbull, Drake, Daddy Yankee, Luis Fonsi, Justin Bieber and three major music companies, have argued that dembow cannot be copyrighted in the first place because it is too basic and “exists in countless prior works”.
Both sides had asked the judge to grant a summary judgment, seeking a ruling to end the case. But in the latest turn of events, the judge has refused to do so.
The procedural decision sends the lawsuit into a new phase of discovery and towards an eventual jury trial. The defendants will now have to decide whether to strike a settlement or fight the highly complex case.
