In 2014, Rick Ross and Jermaine “Mayne Zayne” Jackson, one half of The Runners, sued pop group LMFAOfor copyright infringement. Rozay claimed that the phrase “everyday I’m shufflin',” from 2010’s “Party Rock Anthem” infringed on his 2006 hit “Hustlin’,” where he raps, “everyday I’m hustlin’.” LMFAO’s publishers Kobalt Music Group and car company Kia Motors America (who helped license “Party Rock Anthem” for commercials) are also defendants.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ross actually filed for three different copyright registrations. “The first application came on Feb. 28, 2006, from an entertainment attorney for the production team seeking registration for an unpublished musical work. The second came on June 28, 2006, from a Warner Bros. entity seeking registration for a published musical work. And the third came on Feb. 28, 2007, from a Sony entity.”
When a judge sent questions to the U.S. Copyright Office about these registrations, Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante responded that her office should have refused all three attempts because the applications were inconsistent and therefore defective. TMZ reports that a judge made the decision that the inaccuracies in Ross' applications forced his case to be thrown out of court.
