Judge Reverses Ruling, Shielding Bad Bunny and 150+ Reggaeton Artists From Dembow Copyright Claim

On September 1, 2026, U.S. District Judge André Birotte Jr. reversed his own July ruling in the sprawling copyright suit brought by Jamaican production duo Steely & Clevie (Cleveland "Clevie" Browne and the heirs of the late Wycliffe "Steely" Johnson), who had argued their 1989 recording "Fish Market" established the dembow rhythm underlying reggaeton and sought damages across roughly 2,000 songs by more than 150 artists, including Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee, Karol G, J Balvin, Drake, Pitbull, Justin Bieber, and Luis Fonsi. Birotte sided with Bad Bunny's attorneys, who had asked him to reconsider after arguing the plaintiffs never identified a single copyrighted work containing the specific arrangement they claimed was infringed, but instead assembled what the defense called a "Frankenstein" copyright by combining elements extracted from multiple independently existing recordings. The reversal dismisses the broadest claim — ownership of the dembow rhythm itself — though narrower claims alleging direct sampling of specific recordings still proceed to trial. Jamaican attorney Lloyd Stanbury, who previously represented Steely and Clevie, told the Jamaica Observer on September 4 that the fight is "far from over" and that the plaintiffs retain the right to appeal, while Clevie declined to comment on the ruling.