Pryor Cashman music industry litigators secured a complete victory in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on behalf of clients Karol G, Tiësto, Atlantic Recording Corporation, Sony Music Publishing (US) LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., and Warner Records Inc., in a copyright infringement lawsuit concerning the global hit single Don't Be Shy.
Plaintiff Rene Lorente-Garcia, a Latin jazz flutist, alleged that the 2021 collaboration between Karol G and Tiësto infringed his 1998 composition Algo Diferente, asserting claims for direct, contributory, and vicarious infringement.
On July 9, Chief Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga granted summary judgment in favor of all defendants and dismissed the case in its entirety. The Court also granted Pryor Cashman's motion to exclude the plaintiff's expert under Daubert, finding the testimony inadmissible due to lack of qualifications and methodological reliability.
In a comprehensive opinion, the Court held that:
- The plaintiff failed to establish that any defendant had access to his work;
- The expert's opinions were speculative and unsupported by accepted forensic musicological methods;
- Without admissible expert evidence, no reasonable jury could find the songs strikingly similar.
Pryor Cashman's team demonstrated that the plaintiff's song had minimal online exposure and no credible pathway to the defendants, and that any alleged similarities were based on unprotectable musical elements. The firm also established that the plaintiff's expert had not conducted a proper comparative analysis or reviewed relevant prior art — a critical omission in copyright cases involving music.
"We're pleased the Court saw this case for what it was — a misguided claim unsupported by the law or the facts," said James Sammataro, Co-Chair of Pryor Cashman's Music Group and Media + Entertainment Litigation Practice. "This ruling reinforces the importance of rigorous expert standards in copyright cases and protects artists and creators from meritless challenges to their original work."
The litigation team was led by Partners James Sammataro, Donald Zakarin, and Benjamin Akley, and Associate Brittany Pagnotta, with help from Partners Frank Scibilia and Andrew Goldsmith. This result adds to Pryor Cashman's record of success in high-profile copyright litigation, including its precedent-setting defense of Ed Sheeran in the "Thinking Out Loud" case.
With a long history representing global artists, labels, and publishers, Pryor Cashman continues to be a go-to firm for complex and closely watched disputes in the music industry.
The firm's win was featured in numerous outlets, including Billboard and Rolling Stone.
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