Appeals court rules for Eminem in royalty lawsuit

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal appeals court has found Eminem's former production company is entitled to more money from downloads of the rapper's songs and ringtones.

A federal jury last year had ruled against F.B.T. Productions LLC in its lawsuit against Universal Music Group seeking a greater share of revenue from downloads made between 2003 and 2008.

But the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found Friday that F.B.T.'s contract entitled Eminem and his producers to a 50-50 split with Universal for recordings licensed to digital distributors such as Apple Inc.'s iTunes.

The record label had paid F.B.T. and Eminem 12 percent of sales, the agreed-upon rate for physical albums.

F.B.T. discovered Eminem in 1995 before he signed in 1998 with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Records. Universal's Interscope Records distributes Aftermath recordings.