By Blake Brittain
Atlanta rap star Nayvadius Wilburn, better known as Future, has defeated a copyright lawsuit by another rapper over his song “When I Think About It,” according to a Chicago federal court ruling.
US District Judge Martha Pacold said on Friday that Future’s song was not close enough to Virginia rapper Gutta’s “When U Think About It” to show infringement despite their use of similar title phrases and overarching themes.
An attorney for Future declined to comment on Monday. Gutta did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Gutta, whose given name is DaQuan Robinson, sued Future in 2021. He said he sent copies of his song in 2017 to rapper Doe Boy, who is signed to Future’s label, and producer Zaytoven, who produced Future’s song.
Future released “When I Think About It” on his 2018 mixtape “Beastmode 2.”
Gutta accused Future of copying his song and noted similarities including themes of guns, money and jewelry and the title phrase that both songs repeat as a “core lyric.”
Pacold dismissed the case on Friday. She said that none of the individual elements of Gutta’s song at issue were entitled to copyright protection, and that taken together they only showed “small cosmetic similarities” to Future’s song.
“First and most critically, the phrase ‘when you think about it’ or ‘when I think about it’ is not entitled to copyright protection,” Pacold said. “It is a fragmentary expression that is commonplace in everyday speech and ubiquitous in popular music.”
Pacold also said themes of guns, money and jewelry were common tropes in rap music, citing other songs by rappers Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan and Kanye West.
Pacold also rejected Gutta’s idea of a copyright-protected “core lyric,” calling the concept a “basic element of popular songwriting” and using the chorus of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Our House” as an example.
“This songwriting technique is not unique to Robinson, nor mid-century Canadian-American bands that feature intricate vocal harmonies,” Pacold said.
