Reggaeton copyright case: plaintiffs lack the composition rights at its core

Judge André Birotte Jr. needs weeks to decide whether to reconsider his July ruling that a jury must weigh whether roughly 1,800 reggaeton songs by Bad Bunny, Drake and 150 other artists infringed the 1989 track 'Fish Market.' Complicating the claim: plaintiffs Steely & Clevie own only the sound recording, not the composition copyright, which belongs to producer Dennis 'the Menace' Halliburton — not a party to the suit.