Dame Dash Vows JAY-Z’s Legal Notice Won’t Stop Roc-A-Fella Stake Auction: “This Sh*t Still For Sale”
Damon Dash has reacted to the news of JAY-Z’s legal notice filing regarding the master recordings of his debut album, Reasonable Doubt.
Earlier this week, reports surfaced that JAY-Z’s attorneys had filed a legal notice informing potential bidders in the auction of his intent to retain Reasonable Doubt‘s master recordings in 2031, regardless of if any label or entity holds ownership of the album at that time.
Seemingly undettered by Hov’s legal filing, Dash took to social media to reiterate his intention to move forward with the auction, declaring that participants will be not be bidding on a mere copyright, but ownership over one of Hip-Hop’s most storied labels.
“They can say what they want, this sh*t is still for sale,” the Harlem native wrote in the caption of a post of the Reasonable Doubt album cover on Instagram. “You’re not buying a copyright, you’re buying a piece of a company ROC A FELLA INC.”
According to the notice, whoever purchases Dash’s stake at auction would potentially only be able to profit from proceeds generated by Reasonable Doubt for roughly five more years, after which ownership of the album will revert back to JAY-Z himself.
Under Section 203 of the Copyright Act, an artist can file a legal request for ownership rights to a copyrighted work 35 years after its release. Being that Reasonable Doubt was released in 1996, JAY-Z would be legally allowed to file for reclamation of ownership of the album.
Earlier this year, Dash was ordered to sell off his stake in Roc-A-Fella Records to settle a $823,000 debt owed to movie producer Josh Weber over a copyright infringement and defamation judgement stemming from a legal battle involving the 2016 film Dear Frank.
While JAY-Z and fellow Roc-A-Fella Records cofounder Kareem “Biggs” Burke attempted to block Dash from selling his share, U.S. Magistrate Robert W. Lehrburger ordered the label to relinquish Dame’s stock certificate to the U.S. Marshals Service for an auction in 180 days.
Dash’s public auction for his ownership stake in Roc-A-Fella Records is scheduled for Aug. 29 and will take place in New York City.
The minimum bid for the auction begins at $1.2 million.
See Dame Dash’s Instagram post below.
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