{
  "id": 2393505,
  "title": "Bad Bunny Won’t Get $500K Legal Bill Repaid After Failed Lawsuit: ‘Would Send the Wrong Message’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/21/bad-bunny-wont-get-500k-legal-bill-repaid-after-failed-lawsuit-would",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-21T14:41:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Billboard",
    "slug": "billboard",
    "url": "https://www.billboard.com/pro/bad-bunny-wont-get-500k-legal-bill-repaid-after-lawsuit/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A federal judge has ruled that Bad Bunny should not receive nearly $500,000 in reimbursement for legal fees related to a failed copyright lawsuit. According to the judge, awarding such a penalty would \"send the wrong message.\" The controversy arose after Bad Bunny accused Empawa Africa of dropping a case and refusing to reimburse his legal fees, claiming the sample used in his song \"Enséñame a Bailar\" was clearly cleared. However, a federal judge disagreed, ruling that Empawa filed an \"objectively reasonable\" lawsuit that could have potentially succeeded. The judge also dismissed allegations of ulterior motives.",
  "summary": "The star wanted reimbursement after beating a sample lawsuit he said “should never have been brought,\" but a judge says he'll have to foot his own bill.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}