Beyoncé has scored a legal victory. Her label and management juggernaut, Parkwood Entertainment, defeated a copyright lawsuit over the sample that opens ‘Alien Superstar.’

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The ruling came on Friday from U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi. The judge dismissed the lawsuit brought by Hirose Enterprises LLC, which claimed ownership of the 1998 John Holiday song ‘Moonraker.’

Parkwood properly cleared the sample from Holiday. He is listed in the Renaissance credits and was paid $10,000 plus 0.5% of royalties. The song reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Hirose Enterprises LLC, owned by Shuji Hirose, claimed it actually owned the copyrights. However, the company was not formed until a week after the lawsuit was filed. This presented a major legal defect.

Judge Scarsi quoted the ‘Moonraker’ lyrics in his ruling. He wrote:

“Please do not be alarmed, remain calm: like the DJ booth referenced in the works at issue, this district judge must conduct a troubleshoot test of the entire system, that is, a jurisdictional inquiry, before reaching any of the parties’ merits arguments. Plaintiff had no legal existence at the time it brought suit, so it cannot have held a stake in the outcome of the litigation at the time it filed the complaint.”

The judge threw out the case against Parkwood, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Music Publishing, and Warner Chappell. Beyoncé herself was not a target.

Hirose Enterprises has the right to appeal.

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