Pitbull’s Record Label Hit With ‘I Feel Good’ Copyright Lawsuit

Musical artist Pitbull copied the melody, rhythm, and more from a work called “Samir’s Theme” to produce the song “I Feel Good” with his record label and Universal Music Group, according to a federal lawsuit.

The two songs have “significant similarities” including the “melody, harmony, melodic structure, tempo, musical arrangement and percussion,” according to the complaint filed Thursday by All surface Publishing Inc. in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The copyright lawsuit also names Pitbull’s record label, Mr. 305 Inc., and Paul Edward Blair, who goes by DJ White Shadow, as defendants. Anthony Watts, who is also featured on the track, was not named as a defendant in the suit.

The principal for All Surface Publishing sent a copy of Samir’s Theme to Blair in May 2011, according to the complaint, which said the artist responded, “I love this song.”

A decade later, in 2021, the Mr. 305 label, a subsidiary of UMG, distributed the song “I Feel Good,” which had an identical tempo and a similar melodic line, instrumentation, and rhythmic structure, the complaint said.

“Both rhythmic figures begin with four 8th notes in the first half of the bar and continue into the second half of the bar with a practically identical syncopated figure comprised of 8th and 16th notes,” the filing said, noting the similarities between the two tracks.

Universal Music Group and Mr. 305 didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

All Surface Publishing is represented by Sanders Law Group. Counsel for Universal Music Group, Mr. 305, and Blair haven’t yet entered an appearance.

The case is: All Surface Publishing, Inc. v. Universal Music Group et al, S.D.N.Y., 1:24-cv-06039, complaint filed 8/8/24.