Bad Bunny Wins Dismissal of Sample-Clearance Lawsuit

A Nigerian producer who accused Bad Bunny of improperly sampling his work has had his lawsuit dismissed after failing to pursue the claim. Dera alleged in 2023 that Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti track “Enséñame a Bailar” featured an unlicensed sample of a 2019 track called “Empty My Pocket” that Dera produced for Joeboy. Dera and his record label, emPawa Africa, eventually filed a lawsuit last spring, but in January, their legal representatives, Manatt Phelps and Phillips LLP, said they had parted ways with their clients due to “irreparable differences.” Bad Bunny’s legal team maintains that the sample was cleared.

Dera and emPawa’s litigation of the case came to a standstill after the lawyers dropped out, according to Billboard. The label was subsequently dropped from the lawsuit; Dera, the federal judge said at the time, had “not filed any papers or otherwise appeared in this case.” He was given until March 6 to resume the prosecution process, but failed to do so, Billboard reports.

Karen L. Stetson, representing Bad Bunny for the law firm GrayRobinson, told Pitchfork, “As we stated when the case was filed, my client bought the rights to use the music at issue and was never provided evidence of the plaintiffs’ contrary claims of ownership.  When plaintiffs were forced to provide evidence in the lawsuit, they chose instead to abandon the case, resulting in the dismissal and final judgment in favor of defendants.”