50.jpgA judge in Miami ruled in favor of 50 Cent on Friday (October 27) when he dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit that was filed against the Queens rapper earlier this year. In January, attorneys representing Lil Joe Wein Music, the copyright holders for Luther "Luke" Campbell's early recordings, filed suit against 50, alleging that he stole a line from the Miami rapper and used it in his smash hit "In Da Club." According to the Associated Press, US District Court Judge Paul C. Huck ruled that the line in question, "Go shorty, it's your birthday," is a "common, unoriginal, and non-copyrightable element of the song" and thus is not subject to copyright protection. The original lawsuit, filed by attorney Richard C. Wolfe, claimed that 50 simply changed one word from Luke's 1994 recording "It's Your Birthday." According to previous reports, Luke had no part in the lawsuit and earlier this year issued a statement distancing himself from the proceedings. Lil Joe Wein Music acquired the rights to Campbell's music after the Miami pioneer filed for bankruptcy protection in the 1990s.

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