Juicy J & DJ Paul Hit $uicideboy$ With $6.45 Million Copyright Lawsuit
Written by SOURCE on September 9, 2020
In a move that will likely come as quite a shock to fans of both groups, founding Three 6 Mafia members Juicy J and DJ Paul have filed a massive lawsuit against the $uicideboy$ duo of Ruby da Cherry and Scrim.
Paul and Juicy have alleged that defendants Scrim (Scott Arceneaux Jr.) and Ruby da Cherry (Aristos Petrou) have “made a career” out of “stealing and profiting from” their copyrighted material. In the complaint, which was viewed by Complex, it’s stated that the $uicideboy$ have “illegally sampled and stolen from” what the plaintiffs have alleged is a total of “at least” 35 of what they consider to be “original songs.”
That last bit, namely the distinction of what constitutes an “original song” in legal terms, is already receiving special attention in connection several instances of alleged copyright law violations cited in the suit:
The suit also accuses the New Orleans duo of further misappropriating the “artistic and cultural identities” of Three 6 Mafia by way of aesthetic similarities and Scrim’s occasional use of the Yung $carecrow name, which they connect to late Three 6 Mafia member Ricky Dunigan’s Scarecrow moniker.
Juicy J’s previous work with $uicideboy$ is also highlighted in the suit. According to the complaint, Juicy “promptly stopped collaborating with” them once he was made aware of their alleged use of copyrighted works without procuring proper licensing.
Juicy and Paul are asking for $1.2 million in compensatory and actual damages, including profits from the alleged infringement, as well as an additional $5.25 million in statutory damages. $uicideboy$, meanwhile, have responded by questioning the legitimacy of the copyright claims and alleging that Juicy J had given them permission to use the material in question.
In comments to XXL published on Wednesday, DJ Paul said the duo had “no verbal agreement” with Juicy J and also explained some alleged behind-the-scenes activity that preceded the lawsuit.
“They stole our act, they stole everything that’s about us,” Paul said.
