Following a five year legal battle, the estate of famous and controversial rapper, Tupac Shakur, have won the rights to his formally unreleased music.
Tupac’s mother, Afeni Shakur, was the estate’s administrator when the legal proceedings were lodged in 2013.
The estate accused music and distribution producers, Entertainment One, of withholding royalties from the music that was written and produced by Tupac during his lifetime.
Despite Tupac’s mother dying in 2016, the case continued with the court finding in favour of Tupac’s estate.
Tom Whalley, the Head of Roma Vista Recordings and collaborator with Tupac during their time at Interscope Records before Tupac’s brutal murder in 1996, took over the estate when Afeni became ill in 2014; seeing the case through to its conclusion last week.
The Court found that Entertainment One had failed to pay royalties to the estate and was subsequently ordered to pay a six figure sum to compensate.
In addition, Tupac’s estate has also been granted access and exclusive rights to a range of unreleased music made before his death.
Although Tupac posthumously released four albums to accompany the three albums he released during his life, the content and recordings will allow the estate to produce and release more albums, with original content, in the future.
To the millions of fans that mourned the rapper’s death and have held him as an idol ever since, the news of new content will be exciting.
Whilst the ruling has seen justice prevail with the estate’s owner receiving their intellectual property and royalties returned, the importance of creating a Will and specifying all property, including creative and digital property, has been made very clear. An up to date Will could have made property and ownership clear, avoiding unnecessary legal proceedings.
The ruling may also throw up fresh concerns and regulations concerning digital ownership rights. As we move to an increasingly digitally prevalent age, ideas of who owns digital products and for how long will continue to develop.
Have you dealt with clients unsure about intellectual property?
