French Montana walked away from a copyright lawsuit over his 2013 hit with a clear win in federal courtroom and no damages owed.

French Montana walked away with a courtroom win and his platinum plaque intact after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit tossed out a copyright infringement lawsuit tied to his 2013 single “Ain’t Worried About Nothin’.”

The authorized dispute, filed by musician Eddie Richardson, accused the Bronx rapper of lifting elements from an instrumental Hip-Hop track without permission.

Richardson claimed French Montana’s group copied his composition, pointing to the usage of “deep percussion, rhythmic snare” patterns that he believed had been taken straight from his work.

But the appellate judges weren’t satisfied. The courtroom sided with Montana, stating there wasn’t sufficient proof to point out the rapper “duplicated the work as opposed to merely imitating it.”

That distinction proved important, as copyright regulation requires a better burden of proof for precise copying versus coincidental resemblance.

The courtroom additionally famous that the musical parts Richardson cited had been too generic to qualify for defense. Familiar sounds in Hip-Hop manufacturing, the judges concluded, can’t be locked down by a single artist.

“Ain’t Worried About Nothin’” was the lead single off Montana’s debut album, Excuse My French and it made a strong affect on the charts, peaking at No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100.

It later earned platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.

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