As it relates to the courtroom and legal drama, 2015 was definitely a year to forget for 50 Cent. Whether it was a judge ordering the 40-year-old rapper to pay a woman millions in punitive damages as a result of a leaked sex tape, his bankruptcy filing, or suing his lawyers for $75 million, it seemed as if 50 lived in the courtroom last year, and it was always for the wrong reasons. Well, it's a new year, and it seems as if things are looking up for the Queens native on the legal front as a result of a victory in a case over a song he released nearly a decade ago.
This past Friday (Jan. 15), a judge dismissed a copyright infringement case filed against 50 Cent back in 2010 over Fif's 2007 hit single "I Get Money." The case, which was filed by an individual named Tyrone Simmons, who also goes by the rap moniker Young Caliber, was thrown out by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit as a result of having been "time-barred" and Simmons having waited too long to file the suit, according to 50 Cent's lawyer. Simmons reportedly failed to file the case ahead of the three-year statute of limitations.
According to Simmons, 50 Cent, the song's producer William Stanberry, and other music labels infringed on his right to use the instrumental for "I Get Money." Said 50's lawyer after the judge's ruling:
"Today the Second Circuit Court of Appeals vindicated Curtis Jackson, aka 50 Cent, in a copyright case relating to his 2007 hit record 'I Get Money …The plaintiff in the case claimed that he was the owner of the underlying beat of the track, but the appeals court affirmed an earlier ruling that the plaintiff had waited too long to raise his complaint."
Between this and the beef he's currently embroiled in with Meek Mill, Fif is definitely winning in 2016, thus far.