Dr. Dre wins lawsuit over 'The Chronic'

A federal judge has ruled that Death Row Records does not have the rights to sell digital versions of Dr. Dre's 1992 debut The Chronic.

Dre last year filed a lawsuit against WIDEawke Death Row Records, which had bought the original Death Row Records out of bankruptcy for $18 million (£10m) in 2009.

US District Judge Christina Snyder ruled that the new label does not have the rights to place Dre's music on compilations or other albums, or to profit from the online version of his first release.

Dre's attorney Howard King told The AP that the ruling did not halt the digital sales of his client's music but entitled him to receive 100% of the proceeds.

"For years, Death Row Records forgot about Dre when they continued to distribute his music digitally and combined his hits with weaker Death Row tracks in an attempt to elevate the stature of their other artists," King said.

"We are gratified that the federal court has unambiguously declared that Death Row has no right to engage in such tactics, and must hold all proceeds from these illicit distributions in trust for our client."

Death Row Records was founded in 1991 by Dre with Suge Knight, but he fell out with Knight and left in 1996 to form Aftermath Entertainment.

According to Dre's exit agreement with Death Row, the label - now in its WIDEawake form - can only sell his music in the formats available before the deal, that is, vinyl, 8-track, cassette and CD.

> Death Row to reissue The Chronic