Bad Bunny Demands Legal Fees in ‘Enséñame a Bailar’ Lawsuit

Photo Credit: Sasun Bughdaryan

Bad Bunny isn’t quite ready to put his “Enséñame a Bailar” copyright showdown in the rearview. With the plaintiffs having abruptly stepped away from the case, the artist, Universal Music, and different defendants are now seeking nearly $600,000 in legal fees.

Scheduled to receive a hearing late next month, the attorney fees push came to light in a pair of fresh filings. Taking a step back for a moment, Bad Bunny and others officially beat the complaint, submitted in May 2025, earlier in March.

As we broke down then, the presiding judge tossed the infringement action with prejudice, indicating that the plaintiffs had “abandoned” the suit. In a nutshell, said action, levied by emPawa Africa and Nigerian artist Dera, accused Bad Bunny and more of sampling “Empty My Pocket” in 2022’s “Enséñame a Bailar” without authorization.

And while it’s still unclear precisely what caused the plaintiffs to part ways with their counsel and cease litigating, it bears reiterating that Dera as well as “Empty My Pocket” artist Joeboy were at some point added as “Enséñame a Bailar” co-writers.

(Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot to unpack on the authorization front; Bad Bunny’s Rimas professed to have cleared “Empty My Pocket” beforehand from non-party Lekan Adesina, known professionally as Lakizo. As things stand, Lakizo is also credited on “Enséñame a Bailar.” Claims of partial, not complete, “Empty My Pocket” ownership for Lakizo – the effort is said to have combined a couple distinct creations – likewise factored in, and the litigants explored settlement talks in December 2025.)

Another piece of the puzzle: According to the joint fees motion from Bad Bunny (and Rimas), Sony Music’s The Orchard, Spotify, and Apple, co-plaintiff Dera “was not primarily responsible for the prosecution of the lawsuit, nor did he finance the lawsuit.”

Consequently, in pursuing $465,612 in legal fees (a sum that could rise with subsequent billing calculations), these defendants “are not seeking a fee award against” Dera. This would, of course, leave UK-based emPawa Africa on the hook.

Behind the proposed award, the relevant defendants are attempting to secure payment for over 750 hours of legal work billed at as much as $680 per hour; musicologist consultations; and, among other things, their retention of “Nigerian counsel to provide legal research and analysis regarding Nigerian copyright law.”

Meanwhile, per a separate request for fees, Puerto Rico’s RSM Publishing and Universal Music are looking for a distinct $122,000 payment – for close to $600,000 overall.

As for what comes next, the aforementioned damages hearing is tentatively scheduled to take place on April 20th.