Sony BMG Wins Suit Brought by Songwriter

Sony BMG Music Entertainment Inc. won a ruling that it didn’t illegally use a songwriter’s voice and name when it included a 10-second sample of one of her songs on an album by Jennifer Lopez.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said federal copyright law preempted singer Debra Laws’ lawsuit over the use of her work in the song “All I Have” by Lopez and rapper LL Cool J. Sony had an agreement with the music company that owned the copyright to Laws’ recording to use the sample, the court said.