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\n\tMaking good on his promise, Drake<\/a> filed his formal notice of appeal in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, officially starting the clock on his effort to revive his defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group related to Kendrick Lamar<\/a>\u2019s Grammy-winning diss track \u201cNot Like Us.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tA federal judge dismissed the lawsuit<\/a> on Oct. 9, saying the lyrics in the song referring to Drake as a \u201ccertified pedophile\u201d were \u201cnon-actionable opinion.\u201d Drake immediately vowed an appeal after Judge Jeannette A. Vargas issued her ruling. Drake said in his notice that he will be seeking to overturn Judge Vargas\u2019 decision with an action in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThis confirms our intent to appeal, and we look forward to the Court of Appeals reviewing that filing in the coming weeks,\u201d a spokesperson for Drake said in a statement to Rolling Stone on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe issue in this case is whether \u2018Not Like Us\u2019 can reasonably be understood to convey as a factual matter that Drake is a pedophile or that he has engaged in sexual relations with minors. In light of the overall context in which the statements in the recording were made, the court holds that it cannot,\u201d Judge Vargas wrote in her opinion that Drake is challenging. \u201cThe average listener is not under the impression that a diss track is the product of a thoughtful or disinterested investigation, conveying to the public fact-checked verifiable content.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tUMG<\/a> did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. But in a prior statement shared with Rolling Stone<\/em>, the music behemoth said it was happy with the court\u2019s dismissal. \u201cFrom the outset, this suit was an affront to all artists and their creative expression and never should have seen the light of day,\u201d a spokesperson said. \u201cWe\u2019re pleased with the court\u2019s dismissal and look forward to continuing our work successfully promoting Drake\u2019s music and investing in his career.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tDrake filed his lawsuit in January, claiming \u201cNot Like Us\u201d was \u201cintended to convey the specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile.\u201d Drake did not sue Lamar, only their shared label. He claimed UMG knew the statement was faled when it distributed the track, and he also accused UMG of covertly working with Spotify to boost the popularity of \u201cNot Like Us.\u201d UMG denied the allegations<\/a> in a scathing motion to dismiss<\/a> the suit.<\/p>\n