Jay-Z Copyright Infringement Case with Dwayne Walker

Back in 2012, Dwayne Walker filed a lawsuit against Jay-Z for breach of contract and copyright infringement for failure to pay royalties, claiming that he designed the iconic logo for Roc-A-Fella records, Jay-Z’s record company and is owed $7,000,000. The lawsuit, Dwayne D. Walker, Jr. v. Shawn Carter (“Jay-Z”) et al, case no. 12-cv-05384(ALC)(RLE), was filed in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York in 2012. The Plaintiff’s alleges that that “Jay Z, Dame Dash, and Kareem “Biggs” Burke, all agreed to pay Walker $3,500 for the design of the Roc-A-Fella logo. However, Dwayne Walker stipulated in the agreement that he be compensated with two percent of future royalties for ten years after the first year of use. Walker, who claims to own the copyright to the logo, received the $3,500, but the royalties have never come.”

One does not need to have registered with the US Copyright office to actually have copyright protection, but a registered copyright holder has the presumption of ownership in court- whereas an unregistered owner does not. The logo at issue was registered with the USPTO by ROC-A-FELLA RECORDS, INC., reg. no.: 2310169.

Recently, Mr. Walker is claiming that Jay-Z’s legal team is stalling by complicating the legal proceedings. As reported by The Daily Mail, Walker’s attorney accuses Defendant’s legal team of using behavior to ‘mislead, harass, and needlessly increase the cost of litigation’ as the case. RadarOnline writes that for example, “Jay Z’s legal team is “unwilling to cooperate in producing a joint report” and “changed terms of the proposed schedule” numerous times to suit Jay Z’s needs and timetable, the documents claim.” In response, Jay Z’s attorney’s wrote “that they have considered Walker’s prior settlement offer” but believe “that there is NOT a possibility for promptly settling or resolving the case.”

If Mr. Carter’s legal team is trying to scare the Plaintiff away through prospect of high legal fees, it seems that it isn’t working. “This is a straightforward breach of contract case,” explains Berry. “Mr. Walker agreed to create a logo for Jay-Z and his partners, and he did create a logo that has become intimately tied to the enormous success of Jay-Z. Mr. Walker upheld his end of the bargain when all the parties were just starting out, and now they need to uphold theirs.”