Greensleeves and Chris Brown Reach Settlement in “Tight Up Skirt” Copyright Lawsuit

Saturday, September 10, 2022, 1:19 PM GMT-5

Following their 2021 copyright infringement lawsuit, UK-based music firm Greensleeves Publishing Ltd has reached a settlement to end the said lawsuit, filed against R&B singer Chris Brown and his label Sony Music Entertainment.

In July 2021, Greensleeves alleged that Brown and his label had lifted a line from Red Rat’s 1997 single Tight Up Skirt and used it in the artiste’s song Privacy. The line in question was Brown’s “Hey you girl without a tight up skirt,” a phrase at the start of Privacy’s chorus. Greensleeves compared it to Red Rat’s “Hey you girl inna di tight up skirt!” phrase that was featured in several occurrences and variations throughout the song. Thus, according to Greensleeves, Brown had taken the core musical feature of Tight Up Skirt and used it prominently without permission. The music firm also claimed that Brown and Sony had used an identical rhythm with the phrase.

Shortly after the lawsuit became public, Red Rat and Andrew Bradford, who produced the Tight Up Skirt track, expressed their surprise at Greensleeves’ move to sue Brown, with Red Rat stating that the music firm had made a move without proper grounds to act.

In a letter to the court, filed on September 8, Greensleeves, Brown, and Sony advised Judge Robert W. Lehrburger that they “have reached a settlement in principle, which fully resolves the matter.” Greensleeves had originally requested over $US1.5 million. However, details of the settlement, including any financial terms, were not released to the public, and the three parties have been given 45 days to finalise the settlement’s paperwork.

Listen to Red Rat and Chris Brown’s Songs below.

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