Jury Favors TVT In Rap Suit

Variety reports TVT Records won a jury verdict Friday against Island Def Jam Music Group and its chairman Lyor Cohen for fraud and willful copyright infringement for preventing release of an album featuring performances by Ja Rule and his group CMC, which was produced by Irv Gotti. At trial, Cohen denied that he instructed Gotti not to finish the project for TVT, despite evidence presented at trial that he had previously had told Gotti that he did not have permission. The jury found Def Jam and Cohen had tortiously interfered with TVT’s contract.