DMX’s long-term legacy of intellectual property and its control over its legacy came to a decisive conclusion in a New York court.
The judge ruled that his ex-wife, Tashera Simmons, had no ownership of his musical rights or trademark.
The legal battle broke out after the rapper’s intestate death in 2021, taking Tashera as a divorce settlement in 2016, eligible for 50% of DMX intellectual property.
The court disagreed.
“The 2016 settlement does not explicitly distribute ownership of the copyrighted work or trademark of the deceased and, in fact, does not mention ownership or ownership of the property,” the judge said in the ruling. “The plaintiff has no income interest or is otherwise entitled to any money of any kind arising from or attributable to services provided by Earl Simmons.”
The court announced that the estate remains the exclusive owner of all copyrights and trademarks related to the name and work of DMX, including trademarks created during their marriage to Tashera.
The judge stressed that the language in the divorce agreement refers only to royalties, not ownership.
Another part of the dispute focused on five direction instructions signed before DMX’s death, which directed royalties to be allocated with Tashera for specific recordings from 1998 to 2013.
The court ruled that the letters did not grant any ownership rights.
The judge concluded: “The plaintiff has no right to approve or any other right in connection with any intellectual property rights owned by Earl Simmons, regardless of whether Earl Simmons has obtained or obtained such rights.”
The estate includes potential future revenues for music royalties estimated at $17.7 million since the sudden death of DMX and a 50-year-old heart attack.
The rapper left behind 15 children, without the will, to catch fire between the heir and colleagues to control his assets.
Initially, DMX and Tashera (Xavier, Tacoma and Sean Simmons) son granted temporary permissions to the estate in October 2021.
However, after alleging misconduct, they were suspended indefinitely. In the latest ruling, the court dismissed the lawsuit against them.
The estate is now supervised by Sasha Simmons and Desiree Lindstrom, mother of DMX’s youngest son Exodus.
Lindstrom had previously petitioned to be considered the common law wife of DMX, but the request was denied.
The ruling effectively ends Tashera Simmons’ legal pursuit of DMX intellectual property and ends a chapter in an ongoing battle for the late hip-hop idol legacy.
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