Judge Tosses Out Copyright Lawsuit Over Jay Z’s ‘Run This Town’

A Manhattan Federal Judge ruled Tuesday Jay Z can still "Run This Town."

Judge Lewis Kaplan tossed a suit brought by the TufAmerica record label alleging Hova illegally sampled a 1960s funk jam without permission on his hit 2009 single, “Run This Town.”

The sample was of the word "Oh" in the song, "Hook and Sling" by Eddie Bo and the Soul Finders, which Kaplan said did not have enough in common with the hit song to warrant copyright infringement.

“The word ‘oh’ is a single and commonplace word. Standing alone, it likely is not deserving of copyright protection,” Kaplan ruled.

"It appears only once, if it appears at all ... It would be impermissible to conclude that defendants are liable in this case.”

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