Kanye West sued again for copyright, this time it’s Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”

The executor of the late Donna Summer’s estate has announced legal action against Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign for what they allege is copyright infringement.

Bruce Sudano, Summer’s executor and the late disco vocalist’s husband, claims that West and Ty used “I Feel Love” in their track “Good (Don’t Die),” released earlier this month.

The Summer estate asserts that more than a matter of copyright, the suit is “about the rights of artists to decide how their works are used and presented to the public.”

In the suit, Summer’s estate alleges that West and Ty actually asked for authorization but were denied. The lawsuit states that the reason for denial included “the potential degradation to Summer’s legacy” due to West’s “conduct [which] has led numerous brands and business partners to dissociate from him” and that the estate sought to avoid “any public association with the negative publicity surrounding West.”

Universal Music Group also denied authorization, the suit alleges.

The suit claims that in the face of these denials, West and Ty created an “unauthorized interpolation” which used the song’s melody — “essentially re-recorded” using “a singer soundalike to Summer, with slight changes to the lyrics (also done without permission).”

The Summer estate asserts that more than a matter of copyright, the suit is “about the rights of artists to decide how their works are used and presented to the public.”

In addition to conflicts over copyright and “interpolation” with other pop and hip-hop artists and their representatives, West was sued in 2022 for sampling Marshall Jefferson and Curtis McClain’s house music classic “Move Your Body” 22 times in “Flower” from the album Donda 2. Back in 2018, David Morales alleged that West had lifted the bassline of his remix for an Alexander O’Neal song called “What Is This Thing Called Love” on “I Love It.”

“Nobody asked me any permission,” Morales said at the time. “Nobody gave me any love, no points, no royalties – not even a coupon to Walmart.”