Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo copyright dispute

A legal dispute continues between Pharrell Williams and his former Neptunes production partner, Chad Hugo, regarding copyright infringement and production credits.

Williams has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Hugo’s amended complaint is “vague and ambiguous.” Williams’ legal team contends that Hugo has failed to specify which musical compositions or sound recordings are at issue, making an effective response impossible. They further argue that without a valid federal copyright claim, related state-law allegations regarding breach of fiduciary duty should also be dismissed.

In response, Hugo is opposing the motion to dismiss. He argues that Williams is attempting to “rewrite three decades of musical history” by minimizing Hugo’s role as a co-founder of The Neptunes and N. E. R. D. Hugo maintains the dispute covers a broad body of work from approximately 50 studio sessions held between 2019 and 2021. While the current filing focuses on the EarthGang track “U Gotta,” Hugo asserts that the defendants hold the records necessary to identify how these collaborative compositions were released.