Beyonce’s Parkwood Entertainment and singer Chloe Bailey sued in $15 million copyright lawsuit by artist who worked with Kanye West

Beyonce is embroiled in a new lawsuit days after a civil filing against her husband  Jay-Z accusing him and disgraced rap mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs of rape was dropped.

The singer’s Parkwood Entertainment is being sued for copyright infringement by artist Melvin Moore, who claims his work was used without permission in a slew of songs by Chloe Bailey, who is signed to the label.

Moore, also known as 4Rest (Forest), filed a lawsuit in New York on Thursday alleging fraudulent misrepresentation, violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), civil conspiracy, and deceptive business practices.

The Grammy-nominee, 39, claims in the court documents that he ‘contributed substantial original lyrics, melodies, and creative direction to several master recordings’ in Bailey’s album Trouble in Paradise, which was released in August.

Those recordings included Favorite, Might As Well, and Same Lingerie – all of which he alleges were ‘commercially released by Defendants and embodied on without his knowledge or consent.’

He alleged that prior to the 26-year-old promoting songs such as Same Lingerie on her Instagram ‘to over 260,000 people,’ she ‘intentionally disregarded’ the DMCA Violation and Cease and Desist notice he had issued her.

Beyonce’s company Parkwood Entertainment has been sued by artist Melvin Moore for copyright infringement

In his filing, Moore, 39, claims he contributed to songs in Chloe Bailey’s album Trouble in Paradise, but was not given credit nor compensated for his work

Moore went on to explain that Same Lingerie was inspired by a relationship with a woman. He recorded the original demos for the song which was based on her ‘hesitations and emotional struggles following a previous relationship.’

He is requesting punitive damages of $5 million per song. 

He is also demanding a jury trial and seeking an award for statutory damages of up to $150,000 per infringement, statutory damages of up to $25,000 per DMCA violation, and compensatory and punitive damages for willful copyright infringement, fraudulent misrepresentation, and civil conspiracy. 

The California-based artist has also made the allegations against Columbia Records, Music Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, ABC Corporation 1-10, John and Jane Does 1-10.

He claims the defendants’ ‘misappropriated his contributions to the Works, falsely registered the Works under their names, and exploited the Works for commercial gain across multiple revenue-generating commercially viewable platforms without authorization.’

A source told DailyMail.com that Beyoncé, 43, is furious that this spiraled out of control.

‘Beyoncé is incensed that it has gone this far,’ they said. ‘This lawsuit is a terrible look for everyone involved.’

They claimed communication between Bailey and Parkwood had been ‘breaking down’ in the weeks leading up to the filing and they were ‘petrified of being drawn into a lawsuit about theft of intellectual property, especially after seeing how damaging the Marvin Gaye lawsuit was to Robin Thicke’s career.’

Moore, who goes by 4Rest, is alleging fraudulent misrepresentation, violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), civil conspiracy, and deceptive business practices

He provided an example of Bailey, 28, promoting her song, Might As Well, which he worked on, but she ‘disregarded’ his cease and desist

In the complaint filing, as seen here, he also used Same Lingerie as an example of one of his works that allegedly was used by Bailey. He is seeking damages in excess of $15 million

Melvin has written and contributed to hit records for G-Eazy, French Montana, Usher, Ty Dolla $ign and Drake among others.

He also worked with Kanye West on Problematic, which was featured on his Vultures 1 album in February 2024.

Moore posted the album cover of West with his wife Bianca Censori and captioned it: ‘HONORED. I want to thank one of the hardest working rockstars & living legends of our generation. Thanks for always opening your doors when others were closed!

‘BIG LOVE & THANK YOU @kanyewest @tydollasign @djfai @sevyn.’

Beyoncé and West have had a longtime feud, which began in 2009 after he famously stormed the MTV VMAs stage when Taylor Swift won.

There have been signs on social media that a lawsuit was brewing, with Tiffany Red, an advocate and organizer for the union Songwriters & Composers Guild, posting prolifically about Moore’s situation.

In a January 8 post on Instagram, she wrote: ‘If @chloebailey wanted to #paysongwriters, her lawyer would say that. He is NOT. 

‘He is saying it’s ridiculous that @oneinthe4rest (Melvin Moore) charges a fee and master royalty points, and he doesn’t need @oneinthe4rest’s consent to release his composition. This the REALITY.’

A source told DailyMail.com: ‘Beyoncé is incensed that it has gone this far. This lawsuit is a terrible look for everyone involved’

Moore noted in the court docs that he has written and contributed to hit records for G-Eazy, French Montana, Drake, Usher and Kanye West (pictured with Bianca Censori) among others

He collaborated with West and Ty Dolla $ign on Problematic as featured in West’s 2024 album Vultures 1

She has also spoken out against Combsé a former friend of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who assaulted her friend Cassie Ventura.

Parkwood Entertainment, a management, production and entertainment company, was founded by Beyoncé in 2008.

It reportedly generates an annual revenue of $12 million.

Parkwood is named after a street in Houston, Texas where Beyoncé once lived. It manages Beyoncé, The Carters (Bey and Jay-Z), Bailey and her sister, Little Mermaid actress Halle Bailey.

Ingrid Burley and Sophie Beem were previously on the roster of talent.

In 2016, Parkwood Entertainment released Beyoncé’s sixth studio album, Lemonade, which was accompanied by the release of the hour-long Lemonade visual film on HBO.

The management company is now working on her much-anticipated Cowboy Carter Tour, which kicks off on April 28 at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.