Issue No. 053 · Story 02 · September 14, 2026

Shabba Ranks Seeks to Reclaim Publishing Rights

Shabba Ranks filed a federal lawsuit seeking a declaration that he can terminate an earlier publishing transfer and reclaim rights in songs including Mr. Loverman, Housecall, and Dem Bow.

§The complaint was filed September 11 in the Southern District of New York against Greensleeves Publishing.
§Ranks notified Greensleeves in 2023 that he intended to exercise the Copyright Act's termination right.
§Greensleeves contends that a 1989 agreement classified the compositions as works made for hire, which are excluded from statutory termination.
§Ranks argues that he was not an employee and that the compositions cannot qualify as commissioned works made for hire under the statute.

THE TAKEAWAY

The case applies copyright termination rules to a catalog whose songs helped shape dancehall and reggaeton. The dispute turns on whether contract language can overcome the statute's limits on work-made-for-hire status.

Source: Jamaica Observer

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