The 'Mask Off' emcee was previously sued by rapper Gutta, also known as DaQuan Robinson, for allegedly copying his track 'When U Think About It'.
- Aug 29, 2023
AceShowbiz - Future has scored a big win in his legal battle against rapper Gutta. The "Mask Off" spitter was previously hit with copyright infringement over his song "When I Think About It", but the case was dropped by U.S. District Judge Martha Pacold on August 25.
For the record, Gutta, also known as DaQuan Robinson, accused Future of copying his track "When U Think About It". However, on Friday, Judge Pacold ruled that both songs aren't similar to each other. The judge claimed the titles of the two tracks "lacked uniqueness for copyright protection."
The judge went to note that guns, money and jewelry have been common themes to be found in rap music. The judge even mentioned some track examples like the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Machine Gun Funk", Wu-Tang Clan's "C.R.E.A.M." as well as Kanye West's "Diamonds from Sierra Leone".
Not stopping there, judge Pacold also cited Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's 1970 hit "Our House" to dismiss Gutta's idea of a copyright-protected "core lyric." The judge argued, "The core lyric, 'our house is a very, very, very fine house,' is used to support the entire rest of the song, which uses the house and its constituent elements as the setting for the narrator's relationship."
"This songwriting technique is not unique to Robinson, nor mid-century Canadian-American bands that feature intricate vocal harmonies," she further elaborated. "The mere use of a 'core lyric' to support a song's storyline is not protectable element because it is a frequently utilized technique in popular songwriting."
Gutta filed the lawsuit in 2021, alleging that Future had ripped off his song "When U Think About It" for his "Beastmode 2" track. Gutta said he sent the song to rapper Doe Boy and producer Zaytoven in 2017, who were associated with Future's label.
However, Gutta did not list either Doe Boy or Zaytoven as defendants in the lawsuit. Instead, he sued the 39-year-old Atlanta rap star.
