Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Beat Jazz Musician’s Copyright Claims

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis didn’t rip off a New Orleans jazz musician for their hit songs, the Eastern District of Louisiana said in an opinion docketed April 24.

Insufficient evidence supported Paul Batiste’s claims that the hip-hop duo had access to his songs, and the works weren’t similar enough to prove infringement without evidence of access, the court said.

Batiste is a member of the Batiste Brothers Band. He sued Macklemore & Ryan Lewis for copyright infringement for using unauthorized samples and copying original elements of 11 of his songs in five of their songs, including their number-one hits “Thrift ...