Ghostface Killah filed a lawsuit on Wednesday alleging Universal Music Group violated a contract and owes him royalties due to the alleged contract violation. Ghostface claims UMG hold a 25% stake in Wu Tang Clan songs and not the 50% stake for which they received royalties for.

At the same time, Jack Urbont, the man who composed the”Iron Man Theme” for the 1960’s cartoon show The Marvel Super Heroes, is suing Ghostface and Sony Music for the way they sampled pieces of the “Iron Man Theme” for Face’s 2000 record, “Supreme Clientele”. I don’t know much about legal jargon but this is what Face and Sony countered with according to HollywoodReporter.com:

On Friday, the defendants (Ghostface and Sony) gave reasons why a federal judge should dismiss the lawsuit. They argue that Urbont’s allegations are barred by statutes of limitations.

Specifically, the allegedly infringing Ghostface Killah album, “Supreme Clientele,” came out in 2000 with much fanfare and press, so the defendants want to know how Urbont, who purportedly acts diligently to protect his rights from infringement, failed to learn about songs in question until just recently. Being an octogenarian without a fondness for hip hop isn’t a proper excuse against objecting in a timely manner, they say.

Sounds promising for Ghostface, even if I had to Google octogenarian. (It means, a person in who is in their 80s. You learn something everyday.)

via [HollywoodReporter]

Sean