Published: Saturday - August 18, 2007
Words by Ronnie Gamble
Dr. Dre (Photo: Interscope)
Legendary producer, Dr. Dre, filed a lawsuit in bankruptcy court on Wednesday (August 15) against defunct label Death Row Records over the rights to his 1992 solo debut, The Chronic.
According to the Associated Press, the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles claims that Dre is be the rightful owner of the copyrights of the album and that Death Row have infringed on his rights by continuing to distribute the album without the rapper's authorization.
Dre is asking the court to rescind two prior agreements, made in 1992 and 1996, that first granted Death Row permission to distribute The Chronic, and later relinquished the album's copyrights to the label.
Under the 1996 agreement, the producer agreed to sign over the copyrights on the condition that he would continue to receive royalties. In 2000, Dre notified Death Row that, due to their failure to pay these royalties, he was rescinding the two prior agreements and demanding the rights to the album be returned to him.
Because of that notice, he is once again the rightful owner of the copyrights, and also asserts that the Chapter 11 trustee currently overseeing the label is in the process of trying to sell the copyrights without proper permission.
Via the suit, Dre is asking that the label and trustee pay him restitution for all revenue Death Row received from its use of The Chronic, and would like the court to issue a permanent injunction that would bar the defendants from offering the copyrights for sale without his written consent.
Death Row Records produced a string of hit records in the 90s from artists such as Snoop Dogg, the slain rapper Tupac Shakur and Dre as well, but the label struggled when owner Marion "Suge" Knight was sent to prison for assault and weapons violations.
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