

CreditCreditChad Batka for The New York Times

A federal judge has ruled that Jay Z and his producer, Timbaland, will not face a copyright infringement claim over the hit single “Big Pimpin’,” ending a complex eight-year lawsuit that involved the sampling of a decades-old Egyptian song.

A week into a trial in United States District Court in Los Angeles, Judge Christina A. Snyder announced on Wednesday that the plaintiff in the case, Osama Ahmed Fahmy — whose uncle, Baligh Hamdi, composed the original song, “Khosara Khosara” — did not have standing to pursue his infringement claim.

The case, which has been closely watched by the entertainment industry as it wound through pretrial arguments, delved into thorny issues of international copyright, including the issue of “moral rights” that are common outside the United States. It also followed two other prominent music copyright cases this year, involving Robin Thicke’s song “Blurred Lines” and “Happy Birthday to You.”

Jay Z (whose given name is Shawn Carter) and Timbaland (Timothy Mosley) recorded “Big Pimpin’” in 1999, using a snippet of a flute from “Khosara Khosara,” which had appeared in the 1960 film “Fata Ahlami.” To use that sample, the musicians paid $100,000 to EMI, the company that controlled the licensing for Mr. Hamdi’s song outside Egypt.

But in 2007, Mr. Fahmy sued, saying that his uncle’s song had been used without proper permission. Paramount Pictures, EMI, Warner Music and various other entertainment companies were also named as defendants. Mr. Fahmy’s lawyers argued that even though EMI controlled the so-called economic rights to the song, by altering Mr. Hamdi’s original song Jay Z had “mutilated” Mr. Hamdi’s moral rights, which require the permission of the author or his heirs. Mr. Hamdi died in 1993.

On Wednesday, the judge rejected that idea, saying that Mr. Fahmy could not sue because he signed away economic rights to the song, and could not assert moral rights outside Egypt. The decision effectively ended the case, although Keith Wesley, a lawyer for Mr. Fahmy, said in a statement that he intended to appeal.

David Steinberg, a lawyer for Timbaland and other defendants in the case, said in a statement that his clients “have been vindicated in their position that they have every right to exploit ‘Big Pimpin’ ’ wherever they choose, including in records, films and concerts.”

A spokeswoman for Jay Z declined to comment.

A version of this article appears in print on , Section B, Page 3 of the New York edition with the headline: Judge Rules Jay Z Accuser Has No Standing to Sue. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe