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JAY-Z Files Notice To Claim Masters Ahead Of Damon Dash’s ‘Reasonable Doubt’ Auction

Preezy Brown
2 min read
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JAY-Z has filed notice warning potential bidders on Damon Dash’s ownership stake of JAY-Z’s debut album, Reasonable Doubt, that those ownership rights will be reverted back to the rapper in 2031.

According to TMZ Hip Hop, legal representatives for Hov recently made the filing ahead of Dash’s upcoming auction, in which he will be selling off his percentage of the classic album. The auction is scheduled for Aug. 29, with a minimum bid of $1.2 million required for the opportunity to participate in the sale.

Hov’s notice is the latest development in a lengthy legal battle between the rapper and his former business partner regarding ownership of Reasonable Doubt, which was released in 1996 and is the sole asset owned by Roc-A-Fella and its founders.

JAY-Z and Damon Dash
JAY-Z and Damon Dash

The notice informs potential owners of Dash’s stake that they will only be able to profit from Reasonable Doubt revenues for roughly six years, after which the master recordings for the album will revert back to JAY-Z, granting him full ownership under Section 203 of the Copyright Act.

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Under the law, 35 years after an album or song’s release, an artist can file a legal request for ownership rights to the copyrighted work, in this case, Reasonable Doubt. JAY-Z’s legal notice announcing his plan to file for reclamation of his ownership rights could potentially impact Dash’s plans to sell the album.

The filing could potentially ward off bidders unaware of the looming legal implications surrounding the purchase, thus impacting the perceived value of Dash’s ownership stake.

Damon Dash Wearing Suit
Damon Dash attends the National Film and Television Awards Ceremony at Globe Theatre on December 05, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

News of Dash’s plans to auction off his stake in Reasonable Doubt first surfaced in 2021, but was quickly challenged by JAY-Z’s legal team, resulting in numerous filings by both sides regarding ownership of the album.

“Yeah, it’s for sale,” Dash said in 2021 amid the litigation between the two parties. “I went to court. I’m allowed to sell my stake, so I’m doing it. Ain’t nobody gonna tell me what I can and what I can’t do with mine, I don’t care who it is. So, we just do it legally and bang it out in court.”

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The two sides reached a settlement regarding Dash’s right to sell his ownership stake in Reasonable Doubt in 2022.

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