Pitbull’s Smash Hit ‘Timber’ At Center Of A $3 Million Copyright Infringement Suit

A trio of songwriters is trying to take a $3 million bite out of Pitbull’s smash “Timber.”

In papers filed in Manhattan Federal Court, Lee Oskar, Keri Oskar and Greg Errico charge the rapper’s song borrows liberally from their 1978 tune “San Francisco Bay,” but his record company hasn’t been paying them for the “copyright infringement.”

Lee Oskar is a renowned harmonicist, the suit notes, and the Pitbull-Kesha collaboration makes “copious use” of “San Francisco Bay’s” melody and “original harmonica riff.”

The suit says the harmonica player on “Timber,” Paul Harrington, had been told to “emulate” Oskar’s “harmonica performance from ‘San Francisco Bay’ so that the harmonica lines in ‘Timber’ would have an identical texture and sound.”

The suit says Pitbull’s record company, Sony, “might have obtained a license” to use the song from a different license holder, but the company didn’t get it from the songwriters.

They say they haven’t been paid a dime, even though the song was a number one hit in the U.S. and did big business overseas as well.

They’re seeking at least $3 million in damages.

A rep for Sony said the company does not comment on legal matters.

Neither Pitbull nor Kesha are listed as defendants.

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