Bad Bunny Seeks 456,312 Dollars in Legal Fees After Copyright Case Involving emPawa Africa and Dera Collapses

Bad Bunny’s lawyers have asked a U.S. federal court for 456,312 dollars in legal fees from emPawa Africa, the music company set up by Nigerian artist Mr Eazi, after a copyright case involving Nigerian producer Dera fell apart.

The case started back in 2023, and was about claims that Bad Bunny’s song “Enséñame a Bailar” used an unauthorised sample from “Empty My Pocket,” a 2019 track produced by Dera for Joeboy. The lawsuit was officially filed in May, with emPawa Africa first listed as a co-plaintiff after Mr Eazi publicly said Bad Bunny’s team didn’t properly credit the Nigerian creators.

But the case started falling apart earlier this year. In January, Dera’s lawyers pulled out, saying they disagreed over legal strategy. Soon after, emPawa Africa was removed from the case for missing important filing deadlines.

Dera also failed to meet several court requirements, including missing a March 6 deadline to move forward with the case and not showing up at a scheduled discovery hearing in February.

On March 9, Judge Otis Wright dismissed the case completely, saying that Dera had basically abandoned it. The court said that continuing the case would be unfair to the defendants and not in the public interest.

After the dismissal, Bad Bunny’s lawyers are now trying to get back their legal costs, turning the failed lawsuit into a potentially expensive result for those who were involved in the claim at the start.