George Clinton has filed a $100 million copyright lawsuit against his former business partner Armen Boladian and his Bridgeport Music company over ownership of his music.
The Parliament-Funkadelic musician – who is set to be be inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame later this year – has alleged that Boladian fraudulently obtained copyrights to approximately 90 per cent of his catalogue.
In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday (March 11) in the Florida District Court, the funk legend alleged Boladian and Bridgeport, as well as Westbound Records, Nine Records, Southfield Music and Eastbound Records, have unlawfully profited from his music.
He went on to hold a press conference outside of the Apollo Theatre to announce the suit alongside his attorney Ben Crump, stating that he aimed to reclaim ownership of his catalogue to provide for his family.
“These songs we’re talking about is my history,” Clinton said (via Variety). “I have to fight for them, I have to make sure that I did not do all of this my whole life and have my family here, not get what’s due to them, what they inherit.
“We don’t have a chance to pass down 40 acres and mules to our families. We do not have the copyrights for the songs. So I’m here along with Ben and partners to make sure that Armen does not get what we worked so hard for.”
The ‘Atomic Dog’ singer concluded: “I will continue to speak truth to power and to fight against the forces that have separated so many songwriters from their music,” adding that he encouraged his peers to “investigate, interrogate, litigate, unseal, reveal”.
“If we don’t get this right, then they win, and I refuse to let them win,” he said. “This is about my family and the family of the other legacy artists and us being able to give generational wealth to our family from our intellectual property.”
Clinton’s complaint alleges fraud, copyright infringement, and breach of fiduciary duty by wrongfully acquiring rights to his music, in turn denying him rightful ownership and years worth of royalties. Other allegations include conversion and civil theft, fraud and constructive fraud, unjust enrichment, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligence.
Richard Busch, Boladian’s lawyer, told Variety: “This is just the latest in a series of lawsuits that Mr. Clinton has filed against Bridgeport and Armen Boladian over the last 30 years raising the same exact issues.
“He has lost each and every time, including in the very courthouse in which he has filed this latest lawsuit. We will obviously therefore be moving to dismiss this lawsuit and will be seeking sanctions.”
George Clinton attends a will.i.am and Dean Kamen hosted fundraising gala for FIRST® & i.am/Angel Foundation during Art Basel Miami at Loews Miami Beach Hotel on December 06, 2023 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Ivan Apfel/Getty Images for FIRST)
Indeed, the two have been engaged in legal disputes over several decades. In 2001, Boladian reportedly filed hundreds of lawsuits against musicians who sampled Clinton’s songs. However, Clinton was not added as a plaintiff, and therefore didn’t share any of the millions received.
The same year, Clinton lost a copyright lawsuit against Boladian after a judge ruled that music written between 1976 to 1983 belonged to Bridgeport Music, which Boladian founded. Years later in 2021, Boladian lost a defamation suit against Clinton.
Parliament-Funkadelic released their last album ‘Medicaid Fraud Dog’ in 2018, marking their first new music in 38 years. Shortly after, Clinton announced his retirement from the road in 2019 and played his final UK shows in 2022 after they were delayed by the pandemic. This year, he appeared on Kamasi Washington‘s new album ‘Fearless Movement’, on the track ‘Get Lit’.
Meanwhile, Eddie Murphy is set to play the musician in an upcoming biopic directed by Bill Condon, based on Clinton’s memoir Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard On You?, which traces his roots in 1940s North Carolina to becoming a pioneer of funk.
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