Doing business with friends is risky; ask Kandi Burruss. The Atlanta house-fiancé and hit maker along with fellow co-writer Rodney Richards is just now taking (former?) friend Kim Zolciak to court over not receiving her due compensation from co-writing and producing the iTunes hit “Tardy for the Party” for Zolciak.
Reports are surfacing claiming that the lawsuit cites, “damages for copyright infringement due to Defendants’ unauthorized and unlawful licensing, distribution and sale of Plaintiffs’ creative works, namely a sound recording embodying a performance of a musical composition entitled ‘Tardy for the Party.’” Burruss is also claiming that the song was “marketed and sold in various formats (e.g., compact disc, downloadable audio track, DVD, etc) and through various websites, all without Plaintiffs’ license, consent or authorization.”
In order to sue one friend, Kandi is using the legal expertise of another friend, fellow RHOA cast member and lawyer Phaedra Parks. Together, they seek a jury trial and another suit against TuneCore, an online retailer music distribution company.
Kandi Burruss, the multi-platinum recording artist and television star known for her role on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, is suing fellow reality TV personality Kim Zolciak over licensing rights to a song. This legal dispute dates back several years when Zolciak released “Tardy for the Party” in 2009 without obtaining proper permission from Burruss. Now, she’s taking action against what she believes was an act of copyright infringement. Here’s what we know about Kandi Burruss’ lawsuit against Kim Zolciak.
Burruss wrote and produced “Tardy for the Party” with producer Bryan-Michael Cox back in 2009 as part of an album featuring music by other artists like Beyoncé and Ne-Yo. But instead of paying Burruss royalties for using the track on her own record, Zolciak allegedly distributed it without her knowledge or consent – prompting her to file a suit seeking compensation. She claims that not only did this constitute copyright infringement but also resulted in losses due to lost revenue opportunities.
The case has been ongoing since 2017 and recently took another step forward when a judge ruled that there was enough evidence to go ahead with trial proceedings. If successful, this would be one of many victories for Burruss who has already earned multiple awards for her work as both a singer and songwriter. So stay tuned to find out how things unfold between these two reality stars!
Background Of The Dispute
The dispute between Kandi Burruss and Kim Zolciak over licensing rights to the song “Tardy For The Party” began in 2009. At that time, both women were featured on Bravo’s reality show “Real Housewives of Atlanta”. While shooting for the show, Kim had recorded a version of Kandi’s original composition. This prompted Kandi to file suit against Kim claiming copyright infringement and demanding royalties for her work.
Kandi stated that she was never consulted or informed about Kim recording her own version of the song, nor did she receive any compensation from either Kim or the record label who released it. Furthermore, Kandi claimed that although she held ownership of the lyrics and melody of the song, neither she nor her production team received proper credit for their work when Kim released her version.
As such, Kandi sought legal redress through litigation seeking damages to be paid by Kim as well as an injunction which would bar further use and distribution of her song without proper authorization or payment going forward.
Legal Action Taken
In response to Kandi’s claims, Kim sought the help of her legal team. She argued that she had not infringed on any copyright laws and that Kandi should not be entitled to compensation for something she did not originate. This led to a drawn-out court battle between the two women as they attempted to prove their respective points.
The case eventually went before a judge who ultimately ruled in favor of Kandi Burruss. The judge found that Kim had indeed violated Kandi’s copyrights by recording “Tardy For The Party” without permission or payment and ordered her to pay all royalties owed plus an additional fee. Furthermore, the injunction was granted which barred future use or distribution of the song without proper authorization from Kandi herself.
This ruling put an end to the dispute between Kandi and Kim over licensing rights and established a precedent for protecting original works from infringement going forward.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the dispute between Kandi Burruss and Kim Zolciak has been a long road. It’s taken several years for them to come to an agreement on who is owed what in regards to the licensing of “Tardy For The Party”. After all that time, it appears as though Kandi has chosen to take legal action against Kim. This shows us just how serious she was about getting her fair share from this song. We can only hope that both parties will be able to come to some sort of agreement before things get too out of hand.
At the end of the day, everyone involved deserves their due credit and compensation for their contributions to this hit single. Hopefully, by taking legal action, Kandi will finally receive what she believes she is rightfully owed for her creative involvement with “Tardy For The Party”. Only time will tell if any resolution comes from this situation but one thing we know for sure: these two former friends were never tardy when it came down to protecting their interests!
