Jay-Z Sued Over Alleged Memoir Plagiarism

Jay-Z is being sued for plagiarism, with author Patrick White claiming the 42-year-old rapper stole portions of White’s writing and used them in his own memoir, Decoded.

In a case filed on June 13 in Los Angeles, White accused the 42-year-old of plagiarism. The New York Daily News quoted White as claiming in the handwritten lawsuit:

“In 2009, my personal computer was compromised, resulting in my personal work to be used in Jay-Z’s book ‘Decoded’ which was released in 2010. The book contains various expressions/colors/phrases which correlates to my work. After contacting or attempting to contact the co-author, I got no reply.”

According to Allhiphop.com, co-author Dream Hampton and publisher Random House are also included in the lawsuit. White is seeking unspecified damages for copyright infringement and invasion of property.

White’s lawsuit is not the first faced by the musician this year – in March, Jay-Z and Kanye West settled a copyright infringement lawsuit that alleged the men stole a sample of music for their song ‘The Joy.’

Decoded was released by the rapper in November 2010, and is a collection of lyrics and the story behind what they mean. The book attracted significant attention after Jay-Z teamed up with search engine Bing to create a scavenger hunt that “hid” all 305 pages in 200 locations that have been pivotal in his life. The grand prize for the first fan to ‘decode’ the pages online was a lifetime two-person pass to every single Jay-Z show for the rest of their lives.