The Neptunes’ Chad Hugo is fighting an effort to dismiss his estranged production partner Pharrell Williams’ copyright infringement lawsuit, in which he accuses Williams of trying to erase his contributions to one of hip-hop’s most influential duos.
In a new court filing, Hugo and his attorney, Brent Lehman, dispute Williams’ argument that the lawsuit only identifies one song at issue. Instead, Hugo says the case involves a much broader body of work resulting from both compositions created during approximately 50 studio sessions between 2019 and 2021. They argue that Williams and his affiliated companies, record labels and publishers control the records necessary to identify how those compositions were ultimately released.
Hugo says he chose EarthGang’s “You Gotta” as an example because he was reportedly omitted from the track’s credits despite the recording artists acknowledging his contributions.
Hugo’s new filing, which has been obtained, states, “Before the defendants submit a single document to the court, Chad Hugo from the Neptunes is asked to write to the petition.” rolling stoneTells. “But The Neptunes were two people. For three decades, Hugo and Pharrell Williams wrote and recorded together under this name. Hugo has always been at the center of The Neptunes’ success and is equally responsible for the pair’s special place in the industry. Over the years, Williams has tried to erase Hugo, one of the greatest hip-hop duos of all time. This case has the potential to rewrite history and destroy The Neptunes’ success only to The work is about Williams’ attempt to transform a person.”
Hugo described Williams’ demand for more specific information as “particularly unreasonable”, arguing that he repeatedly sought royalty statements, financial records and other documents between 2021 and 2024, but received “almost nothing, despite counsel’s acknowledgment that additional documents exist.”
Williams’ lawyers did not immediately respond. rolling stone A request for comment on Friday. In his motion to dismiss, Williams argued that after three years and three versions of the complaint, Hugo failed to clearly identify the ongoing copyright claim in federal court.
He and his lawyers argued that Hugo did not previously identify any specific songs in his original complaint, only naming the N.E.R.D. album. No one ever really dies. An amended complaint later listed eight songs that were not on the album, but Hugo removed all eight from his second amended complaint filed the previous month. The latest version of the complaint only names EarthGang’s “You Gotta” without specifying whether Hugo is claiming rights to the musical composition, the sound recording or both, Williams argued.
“The [second amended complaint] “This is so vague and ambiguous as to the copyrights at issue that the defendants cannot reasonably formulate a response,” Williams’ motion states. “As incomprehensible as it is, it appears that Hugo has no idea what compositions or sound recordings he wrote – even though he claims he was on the defendants’ side the entire time.”
Williams argued that without a viable federal copyright claim, Hugo’s state-law claims including breach of fiduciary duty and incomplete accounting should also be dismissed, leaving him free to pursue those claims separately in state court.
In his lawsuit, Hugo said he and Williams co-founded The Neptunes and N.E.R.D., establishing themselves among “the most influential musical forces of their generation” with an innovative sound that helped shape modern hip-hop, R&B, and pop music. Hugo said that his work as a songwriter, producer, arranger and performer was central to their success, although Williams was the public face of their partnership.
Hugo’s second amended complaint states, “Although Defendant Williams often received greater public visibility, Plaintiff’s contributions as the founding creative partner, co-writer, producer, and co-founder of both The Neptunes and N.E.R.D. were indispensable to the business value, goodwill, and brand recognition associated with these ventures.”
Identification continued from complaint no one ever really dies As the source of alleged damages that could exceed $1 million. Hugo said the album debuted at number 10 board charts and has generated millions of streams.