Jay-Z, Timbaland Off the Hook for Sampling Egyptian Song

Hip-hop artists Jay-Z and Timbaland are immune from a copyright infringement claim over their 2000 hit “Big Pimpin’” by an Egyptian composer’s heir.

Composer Baligh Hamdy’s heir didn’t have standing to sue because he already sold his rights to “Khosara, Khosara” in 2002, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said May 31.

The court rejected any Egyptian right the heir might have to prevent “distortions” or “mutilations” of the original composition. This is known as a moral right in a work of authorship, which in the U.S. is given only to some visual artists.

To the extent ...