The record label for Prince has sued rap star Jay Z's entertainment company for copyright infringement, saying it illegally offered the late musician's songs on its music streaming service, according to court records.

The lawsuit filed in the US district court in Minnesota on Tuesday by NPG Records claims Jay Z's Roc Nation illegally offered Prince hits on its subscription-based streaming service, Tidal.

“Roc Nation, through its Tidal service, is exploiting many copyrighted Prince works,” the lawsuit states.

While Tidal was authorised to offer some Prince songs to its customers, Tidal expanded the number of his songs available on the service around the time of the musician’s death on June 7th, without approval from the Prince estate trust, it claims.

Damages

Roc Nation was not immediately available for comment on the lawsuit, which seeks undisclosed damages.

Prince died from an accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl, medical officials said in June.

Reuters