Kanye West found liable for copyright infringement over Grammy-winning song 'Hurricane'

A federal jury on Tuesday found Kanye West, now known as Ye, and his business entities liable on all counts of copyright infringement, concluding that the rapper unlawfully used the musical work "MSD PT2" as the foundation for his song "Hurricane."

The case, Artist Revenue Advocates, LLC v. Kanye Omari West et al., centered on the use of the sound recording during the first public listening party on July 22, 2021, for his album, "Donda." The song was performed before a sold-out capacity crowd at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium and live streamed to millions.

The plaintiff, representing original creators DJ Khalil, Sam Barsh, Dan Seeff, and Josh Mease, successfully argued that the work was taken without license, clearance or payment despite the artists receiving songwriting credits.

The jury found Ye individually and his company, Yeezy LLC, each liable for $176,153 in damages, with his other companies, Yeezy Supply LLC and Ox Paha Inc., liable for $41,625 and $44,627, respectively.

The jury's decision follows pivotal trial testimony from Ye, who admitted under oath that he sang over the "MSD PT2" recording during the Atlanta event and later removed it from the final album version because it was not cleared.

The defense, which included testimony from corporate designee Milo Yiannopoulos regarding the organization's "chaotic" financial records, failed to convince the jury that the use was protected by an "implied license" or that the event was a non-profitable marketing expense.

As a result of the verdict, the defendants face a requested damage award of $564,046, calculated as a portion of the "infringing profits" from ticket sales, a $1.25 million Apple streaming deal, and related Yeezy merchandise sales.