Federal court judges recently heard arguments in the copyright infringement case that claims Beyonce stole the lyrics for her hit, "Baby Boy."
A three-judge panel from the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals who were convening in Lubbock, TX for three days of hearings began listening to arguments in the case on Wednesday (October 3). The plaintiff in the case, Jennifer Armour of Shakopee, Minn., alleges that Beyonce illegally took the lyrics from her song, "Got a Little Bit of Love for You" and used them for "Baby Boy," her collaboration with Sean Paul.
Dana Kirk, Armour's lawyer, argued that the copyright infringement lawsuit - that had been dismissed by a Houston judge, who ruled the two songs to be "substantially dissimilar" last year - should in fact be heard by a jury. Kirk also told judges that an expert had analyzed Armour's original version of her song alongside Beyonce's and had determined that the two songs are substantially similar. Details of the lawsuit reveal that Armour claims that she heard Beyonce's song in 2003 and "recognized the hook and some of the lyrics from her song."
An attorney for Beyonce, Cynthia Arato rebutted Kirk's claims, saying that the standard for copyright cases is what an ordinary person hears, not an expert's analysis.
"I do believe it was the heart of my song," she said after Wednesday's hearing. "When I first heard it, it hit me."
Judges have yet to make a ruling on the case.