Pitbull’s “I Feel Good” Targeted In Lawsuit: “The Infringement Is An Exact Copy”
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It’s been a week of ups and downs for Pitbull. Well, just one up and one down, I guess. Tuesday, Mr. Worldwide became the first musical artist to purchase naming rights for a stadium when Florida International University announced a five-year deal to name its football facility Pitbull Stadium. Thursday, his record label and producer were sued over one of his songs.
As Billboard reports, a company called All Surface Publishing filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court alleging that Pitbull’s 2021 dance hit “I Feel Good” featuring Anthony Watts and DJWS features “significant similarities” to the 2006 song “Samir’s Theme” by Debonair Samir. According to the lawsuit, “The infringement is an exact copy of a discernible portion of plaintiff’s musical work that was copied.” The lawsuit also argues, “When heard in real time, the descending lines of both songs appear to be almost identical.”
The lawsuit does not target Pitbull personally. Instead, All Surface is suing his label, Mr. 305 Inc., and the producer of “I Feel Good,” DJ White Shadow (born Paul Edward Blair). The lawsuit claims All Surface owner Aaron LaCanfora sent “Samir’s Theme” to DJ White Shadow in 2011, to which White Shadow immediately responded, “I love this song.” Universal Music Group is also a defendant on the case, though Billboard suggests that despite Mr. 305’s distribution deal with UMG property Ingrooves, the label is independent and fully owned by Pitbull.
Compare the two songs below.