Reggaeton-Shaking 'Fish Market' Lawsuit to Continue After Judge Denies Motions to Dismiss

The lawsuit that could significantly affect the past and future of reggaeton music is set to go to trial as a judge rejected a majority of motions to dismiss the legal action involving the oft-sampled 1989 track “Fish Market.”

The massive case, which brings together more than 50 related lawsuits filed over the past two years, alleges that Jamaican producers Steely & Clevie's 1989 hit “Fish Market” spawned the signature dembow beat — named after the single by Shabba Ranks in 1990 'Dem Bow', which was used. the “Fish Market” riddim” — that has become the signature of reggaeton music.

Lawyers for the duo claimed that “Fish Market” has been copied or sampled in about 1,800 songs by more than 160 defendants — including Bad Bunny, J Balvin and Daddy Yankee — without credit or compensation.

In October, a federal judge heard arguments to dismiss the lawsuit, which lawyers for the defendants warned could cripple the reggaeton industry. While U.S. District Judge Andre Birotte Jr. expressed concern that the “Fish Market” lawsuit could stifle “creativity” in the genre, did not immediately rule on the motion to dismiss. The decision finally came on Tuesday, Courthouse News reportswith Birotte Jr. to allow the proceeding to proceed.

Lawyers for the defendants had argued that “Fish Market” — as well as producer Dennis “The Menace” Thompson's “Pounder Riddim,” which incorporated “Fish Market” and was similarly frequently used by Dembow and reggaeton producers. Steely & Clevie never sued Thompson — they had no copyright at the time of the lawsuits, and the copyright for the Steely & Clevie “Pounder Dub Mix II” copy was not registered until after the lawsuits were filed.

The decision of Birotte Jr. stated: “While it does not follow that a defendant is necessarily infringing Fish Market's copyright because the defendant allegedly copied 'Dem Bow,' 'Pounder Riddim,' or 'Pounder Dub Mix II,' the copying of material derived from protected elements of Fish Market would constitute an infringement of Fish Market's copyright regardless of whether the defendant copied directly from Fish Market or indirectly through a derivative work.”

While the scope of the lawsuit and the volume of songs involved gave the judge some pause — that is, to determine which artists infringed “Fish Market,” “Pounder Riddim” or “Pounder Dub Mix II” and whether infringement occurred in each case — Birotte Jr. decided that a trial should be established.

“The court is unprepared at this stage to examine the history of the genres reggaeton and dancehall and analyze the characteristics of the genres to determine whether the commonalities between the allegedly infringing works and the subject works are common and therefore unprotectable, as a matter of law,” the judge said (via Court House News).

“Maybe we need a reckoning,” Scott Burroughs, the lead attorney for Cleveland “Clevie” Browne and heirs to the estate of Wycliffe “Steely” Johnson, said of the lawsuit at a hearing in October 2023. He also claimed that many of the defendants they had no problem clearing samples from other artists included in their songs, so why should his clients be “left out in the cold”.