*Kanye West, Jay Z and Frank Ocean have been cleared in a $3 million copyright-infringement lawsuit filed in 2014 by a Brooklyn singer.
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the trio’s 2011 hit “Made in America,” from Kanye and Jay Z’s “Watch the Throne” album, did not copy a 2009 track with the same name by singer-songwriter Joel McDonald, according to Pitchfork.
McDonald claimed that the artists stole his song after their “Watch the Throne” producer, Mike Dean, bought one of McDonald’s CDs.
On Friday, the appeals court upheld a September 2015 dismissal of the suit.
“We have considered all of McDonald’s arguments and find them to be without merit,” the higher court ruled.
The case also named Dean and producer Shama Joseph as defendants, along with Universal Music Group, Roc-A-Fella Records, Def Jam Music and Roc Nation. McDonald represented himself.
Listen to McDonald’s “Made in America” below:
The “Made in America” decision follows a previous “Watch the Throne” copyright case filed by soul singer Syl Johnson after the album’s release in 2011. Johnson claimed West and Jay used an unauthorized sample of his song “Different Strokes” on “The Joy” – a track on the deluxe version of the album – and ultimately settled with the duo in 2012 for an undisclosed amount.
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