Widow of the late rapper MF DOOM, Jasmine Dumile Thompson, along with Gas Drawls, the LLC that controls DOOM's intellectual property, has sued his former A&R, Egon Alapatt for copyright infringement, fraud, intentional misrepresentation and unjust enrichment.

They claim that they hold the rights to 31 of the late rapper’s notebooks which are currently in Alapatt’s possession. they understand them to be part of DOOM’s intellectual property. The notebooks include rap lyrics, notes, rhymes from previously released and unreleased songs and drawings from the late rapper.

The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. It also mentions 50 “Does,” or individuals and/or entities whose names and capacities are currently not known, acting in concert with Alapatt.

The complainants are seeking an injunction requiring the return of the notebooks, the destruction of any copies, and the prevention of further reproduction or publication of the intellectual property contained in the notebooks.

They believe that Alapatt lied about how the notebooks came into his possession and that this dissuaded from them pursuing legal action against him, constituting fraud.

They are also claiming that the ownership of these notebooks has brought Alapatt “a substantial monetary benefit” and they deserve compensation.

They’re seeking a declaratory judgment from the Court that the notebooks are their property and not Alapatt’s.

The complaint alleges that DOOM kept the collection of notebooks in his Los Angeles studio, and by 2010 there were 31 of them. He travelled to the UK that year and was unable to return due to immigration issues. The plaintiffs claim that while DOOM was in the UK, Alapatt took possession of the notebooks. She claims he told DOOM that he paid the studio’s landlord “back rent” to prevent the notebooks from being destroyed and that when DOOM asked him to return the notebooks, he refused.

In response to these claims, Alapatt's attorney said: “Mr. Alapatt looks forward to his day in court to dismiss these frivolous and untrue allegations. Mr. Alapatt rescued these books from DOOM’s unpaid landlord who had taken possession of all of his belongings. With DOOM’s blessing, Mr. Alapatt intended to donate the books to either the Smithsonian or the Cornell University Hip Hop Archive, where they could be considered and studied by scholars, in the same way that manuscripts by great poets or sheet music by great composers are. Mr. Alapatt will do everything he can to ensure that these historically significant books are archived and protected.”

Screenshots of e-mails from DOOM himself were sent with the complaint. The rapper said: “I really need those notebooks.” Alapatt responded that he did not know where the landlord was, that the studio had been “gutted” and that “they carted away dumpsters full of stuff.”

In another email on January 23, 2017, DOOM wrote:

“I also come to find out my notebooks are in your possession. Let me know the cost of storage so we can promptly reclaim these items. I do appreciate the safekeeping and return of ALL the notebooks and any other property belonging to DOOM in your possession.”

Thompson claims that Alapatt admitted that the intellectual property inside the notebooks belongs to DOOM, but that because he paid the “back rent” to the studio landlord when the landlord had the right to destroy the notebooks. He insists the physical notebooks themselves are legally his property. She says Alapatt offered to make copies of the notebooks in 2020 for the sole purpose of delivering them to him, but that DOOM declined his offer.

The complainants said that in October 2020, they received a hard drive with large-format scans of the notebooks with time stamps between 2018 and March 2020. They claimed that Alapatt is guilty of prima facie copyright infringement by copying the notebooks and distributing them to “interested parties,” including “certain hip-hop archives.”

They also alleged that earlier this year, someone “with personal knowledge of the events at issue” told her that Alapatt lied about the“back rent,” and that he had simply purchased the notebooks from the landlord for $12,500. Thompson submitted as evidence a certificate of copyright registration for 20 of the notebooks effective April 19, 2023.