As reported by Billboard, Ice Spice has come to a resolution to settle a copyright infringement lawsuit regarding accusations that her recent hit “In Ha Mood” was plagiarized from an earlier track by a Brooklyn artist.
The lawsuit, initiated earlier this year by artist D.Chamberz (Duval Chamberlain), alleged that Ice Spice’s song, which spent 16 weeks on the Hot 100 in 2023, bore a "strikingly similar" resemblance to his own 2021 track, “In That Mood.”
However, in a filing made in federal court on September 20th, legal representatives for both parties announced that they had agreed to settle the lawsuit. The specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed in court documents, and at the time of writing, neither side had immediately responded to requests for comment.
Following Ice Spice’s breakout in 2022, “In Ha Mood” was released early last year and reached No. 58 on the Hot 100 and No. 18 on the US Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart. The song was subsequently included on her debut EP, Like..?, and she performed it during her appearance as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live in October.
In the lawsuit filed in January, D.Chamberz asserted that the two songs shared so many similarities that the overlaps "cannot be purely coincidental." He contended that the similar elements "go [to] the core of each work," and are so evident that they have already been noticed by listeners.
D.Chamberz’s attorneys stated, "By every method of analysis, ‘In Ha Mood’ is a forgery." They argued that "any proper comparative analysis of the beat, lyrics, hook, rhythmic structure, metrical placement, and narrative context will demonstrate that ‘In Ha Mood’ was copied."
The lawsuit alleged that the earlier song received "significant airplay" on New York City radio stations, including Hot 97 and Power 105.1, providing Ice Spice and others involved in her track with an opportunity to hear it.
In addition to naming Ice Spice (Isis Naija Gaston) as a defendant, the lawsuit also listed her frequent producer, RiotUSA (Ephrem Lopez, Jr.), as well as Universal Music Group, Capitol Records, and 10K Projects.
In April, the defendants formally refuted the allegations in the lawsuit, but the case was still in its initial stages when the agreement was reached on September 20th.
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