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  • Sound bite: Is sampling fair use?
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17 September 2020CopyrightRory O'Neill

Sound bite: Is sampling fair use?

Where’s the line between creative experimentation and theft? That’s the question at the heart of a lawsuit between Tracy Chapman and Nicki Minaj over whether the act of sampling a song in the studio constitutes copyright infringement.

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7 May 2021   A Florida-based rapper is suing actor, musician, and writer Donald Glover for copyright infringement, citing elements of 2018 single “This is America”, released under the Childish Gambino moniker.
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6 October 2020   Led Zeppelin has overcome the final hurdle in its “Stairway to Heaven” dispute with the estate of Randy Wolfe, the late singer of the band Spirit.
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Unauthorised sampling can infringe producer’s rights: CJEU
29 July 2019   The unauthorised sampling of sounds fixed in a phonogram can infringe a producer’s rights, subject to certain conditions, according to Europe’s highest court.


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