Rapper Eminem will finally get his day in court as Manhattan federal Judge Gerard Lynch ruled on Monday (January 3), that his copyright-infringement lawsuit against the Source magazine can go to trial. Eminem is suing the publication for releasing excerpts of two songs, “Oh Foolish Pride,” and “So Many Styles,” without his permission. The songs featured racially offensive lyrics and the publication released the music in attempt to show that Eminem was racist.

The New York Post reports that Judge Lynch is allowing the case to go to trial so that he can hear all the facts before determining whether or not the magazine violated copyright laws by releasing excerpts of the song.

Source founder and publisher Dave Mays told MTV.com, “This case is about freedom of the press, freedom of speech and the way that he and Shady [Records] have tried to suppress those freedoms. These guys are trying to use the courts and their finances to stop us from doing what every other press outlet does on a daily basis.”

The battle between Eminem and the Source began in November 2003 when the magazine held a press conference to play a tape of an early recording from Eminem that featured racially derogatory comments about African-American women. Eminem released two apologies, including a formal apology citing his then-young age and a recent breakup with an African-American woman as the reasons for the racially derogatory comments. The magazine countered that the rapper lied about being 15 years old at the time of the recording and that he was actually 21.

The beef moved into the courtroom in December 2003 when Eminem sued the Source for copyright infringement. Judge Lynch granted Eminem an injunction barring the Source from releasing the songs on a CD with its February issue. Later the judge ruled that the Source magazine could include 20 second snippets of the songs. Eminem subsequently filed an appeal challenging the decision.

No trial date has been set for the case.

In related news, Amjed Abdallah, the owner of Studio 8 in Detroit where Eminem recorded portions of his debut album, the Slim Shady LP, was found shot to death on Tuesday (January 4).

Abdallah was shot twice and had been dead for approximately two days. He was in the process of auctioning off the studio to relocate to New York. Police do not have a motive for the shooting, but said several pieces of expensive equipment were missing from the studio.

Credit: Launch