Court Rejects Bad Bunny’s $465,000 Legal Fee Request in emPawa Africa’s Copyright Case
A copyright dispute involving Bad Bunny’s “Enséñame a Bailar,” and Joeboy’s “Empty My Pocket,” by Nigerian producer Dëra and distributed by emPawa Africa has ended after a U.S. Federal Court dismissed the lawsuit against the Puerto Rican artist and other defendants.
The Origin of The Lawsuit
The dispute began publicly in February 2023, when emPawa Africa founder Tosin Ajibade AKA Mr Eazi accused Bad Bunny and his label, Rimas Entertainment, of using elements of Joeboy’s “Empty My Pocket” on “Enséñame a Bailar,” a track from Bad Bunny’s 2022 album Un Verano Sin Ti, without securing the necessary permissions or providing credit to Joeboy and Dëra. According to emPawa, “Enséñame a Bailar” contains elements of “Empty My Pocket,” including Joeboy’s vocals and material from Dëra’s composition. The label said the song had been used without publishing clearance and that Joeboy and Dëra were entitled to songwriting, publishing and producer credits. At the time, Mr Eazi said emPawa had been attempting to resolve the matter with Rimas through their respective legal teams since May 2022.
“The Team at emPawa Africa have attempted to sort this issue amicably since May of last year with our mutual legal teams,” Mr Eazi said.
He further accused Rimas of attempting to benefit from the work of African creators without proper attribution, describing the matter as “an ill intent of robbery and abuse.”Ikenna Nwagboso, Co-Founder and Head of Label Services, Distribution and Publishing at emPawa Africa, said the label's demands were straightforward: Joeboy should receive credit, publishing and royalties, while Dëra should receive producer credit alongside Bad Bunny's credited producers.
Rimas Entertainment disputes emPawa’s claims
In a statement shared with Pitchfork in February 2023, the company said it had followed standard industry procedures and had acquired the master recording from Lakizo Entertainment, which Rimas described as the track's creator and owner in public sources. Rimas said that after “Enséñame a Bailar” was released, emPawa contacted the company claiming ownership of the masters. According to Rimas, its lawyers subsequently communicated with emPawa in an attempt to resolve the ownership dispute. The company said emPawa had provided a heavily redacted contract but had not supplied what Rimas considered sufficient documentation establishing its ownership claims. Rimas also disputed emPawa's position concerning the song's composition, saying the label had not provided documents demonstrating that it was authorized to represent the writers.
“We look forward to resolving this matter cordially and are waiting for emPawa to provide us with the necessary documents that validate their claims,” Rimas said.
emPawa Africa responds
The label said Lakizo Entertainment's involvement in “Empty My Pocket” was as a licensed distributor and that Joeboy remained the performer and songwriter, while Dëra composed the underlying beat. emPawa also said that its publishing administrator, Kobalt, had been contacted by Rimas after the song’s release regarding publishing clearance. According to emPawa, no publishing clearance had been agreed to before the Bad Bunny record was released on May 6, 2022. The label said Rimas subsequently registered a publishing split without its approval, prompting Kobalt to place the publishing of “Enséñame a Bailar” in dispute. The dispute meant that revenue from the track's publishing was placed on hold while the parties attempted to resolve the disagreement.
Dëra and emPawa Africa Take the Dispute to Federal Court
On May 2, 2025, Dëra, whose legal name is Ezeani Chidera Godfrey, and emPawa Africa Music Services filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Bad Bunny, Rimas Entertainment and several other companies involved in the release and distribution of “Enséñame a Bailar.” The complaint alleged that “Empty My Pocket” had been incorporated into both the composition and sound recording of “Enséñame a Bailar” without authorization. The filing also argued that Lakizo did not have the authority to authorize the use of the work. According to the complaint, Lakizo had supplied the recording to Bad Bunny and/or Rimas but was not an author of “Empty My Pocket” and did not possess the right to authorize derivative uses of the work.
The defendants maintained the opposite position, arguing that the use of the disputed material had been authorized through Lakizo. The lawsuit did not ultimately reach a trial or a substantive ruling on whether the disputed use constituted copyright infringement. In January 2026, the law firm representing Dëra and emPawa withdrew from the case after what court filings described as “irreparable differences” with their clients. Dëra continued as a plaintiff but did not appear at a scheduled discovery hearing on February 5. He also failed to respond to a subsequent order requiring him to demonstrate why the case should continue. The deadline for doing so was March 6. Dëra did not file the required response. On March 9, 2026, Judge Otis D. Wright II dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice. The dismissal was based on the plaintiffs' failure to continue prosecuting the action rather than a trial determining the underlying copyright claims.
Bad Bunny seeks legal fees
Following the dismissal, Bad Bunny's legal team sought to have emPawa Africa reimburse $465,612 in legal fees incurred during the case. In a filing made on March 23, the defendants argued that the lawsuit had been meritless and that emPawa should be responsible for the costs of defending against it. Bad Bunny's attorney, Karen L. Stetson of GrayRobinson, said the artist had maintained from the beginning that the disputed music had been legally acquired and that the plaintiffs ultimately abandoned the case when required to substantiate their claims.
“When plaintiffs were forced to provide evidence in the lawsuit, they chose instead to abandon the case,” Stetson told Pitchfork. The request for legal fees did not mean that the court had ruled that the original copyright allegations were false. The underlying infringement claims were never adjudicated at trial.
Judge Rejects Request for Attorneys’ Fees
Judge Otis D. Wright II ultimately declined to make emPawa responsible for Bad Bunny's legal fees. In his ruling, the judge found that the lawsuit had been objectively reasonable and rejected the argument that emPawa pursued the case in bad faith, noting that the defendants had provided little evidence to support that claim. He said emPawa’s allegations appeared to have merit, particularly because the defendants acknowledged using the copyrighted material and had not produced conclusive evidence showing that they had permission to use it. Under those circumstances, Wright said, awarding attorneys’ fees would risk discouraging copyright holders from bringing legitimate claims to court.
