Travis Scott drags Kanye West into motion to dismiss infringement lawsuit
Travis Scott has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against him while bringing Kanye West into the equation. The Houston rapper was sued for copyright infringement for his 2023 song ‘Telekinesis’ earlier this year.
Roc Nation singer/songwriter Victory Boyd took legal action against Scott and featured artists Future and SZA, claiming they stole elements of her 2019 song ‘Like the Way It Sounds’.
Boyd claimed she shared her track with Kanye, who recorded a version of the song, ‘Ultrasounds’, which remains unreleased but surfaced on SoundCloud. Scott says Kanye permitted him to use the song, including Ye’s alleged chords, beat, and melody.
Filed on June 14th, the motion obtained by Billboard read, “To the extent that plaintiffs’ [complaint] survives this motion (which it should not), the facts will demonstrate that defendants’ use, if any, of the LTWIS work was duly authorised by Mr West, as a joint author of the LTWIS work, having the right and authority to authorise such use.”
Boyd’s attorney, Keith White, said the motion is “an attempt to dismiss straight forward copyright and accounting claims as a delay tactic. We will file opposition papers within the next two weeks, and we fully expect Travis Scott’s motion to be summarily denied in short order.”
Her original lawsuit read, “Scott, SZA, Future and all defendants intentionally and willfully copied plaintiffs’ original work, specifically plaintiff’s lyrics, when they commercially released the infringing work. Upon information and belief, Scott, SZA and Future intentionally and willfully copied Plaintiff’s Original Work, specifically Plaintiff’s Lyrics and Melody, when they created the Infringing Work in May of 2023.”
Boyd asked the defendants to “recall and destroy” all copies of their work, while requesting payment in “an amount to be determined at trial in actual damages and profits, plus interest” and “a full and complete accounting of all profits obtained from their marketing, distribution, and national television broadcasting.”
‘Telekinesis’ appeared on Scott’s Utopia album and peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, racking up over 480 million Spotify streams.