Mac Miller sued for copyright infringement

American rap musician Mac Miller has been hit with a $150,000 lawsuit over alleged copyright infringement.

The suit, filed by Jacques Burvick, a member of the 70s band Aquarian Dream, claims that Mac Miller knowingly used an unauthorized sample from the band's song "Yesterday (Was So Nice Today)" and used it on his track "Therapy," which was featured on Miller's 2014 mixtape Faces.

Burvick states that Mac Miller allegedly admitted to attempting to contact the band to get permission to sample their song. When he was unable to reach them he went ahead and used the song anyway.

Mac Miller's song "Therapy" was a free download on his website, but the band says that it is irrelevant that Miller made no money from the piece. Larry Zerner, the Los Angeles-based attorney for Burvick, said in a phone interview with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, "If I stood on a corner and gave away 700,000 copies of Mac Miller's CD, would he be upset? The fact that he gave it away does not mean my client was not damaged. It's a sample and artists tend to get paid for samples. And it's not just a sample, he raps over the whole song."

This is not the first copyright infringement case brought against Mac Miller. In 2013 he settled a $10 million lawsuit by rapper Lord Finesse over music that appeared on Mill's 2010 album.

"Therapy" was produced at the Pittsburgh studio ID Labs and the mixtape was released on Miller's imprint REMember Music. ID Labs producer E. Dan told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that it was "interesting" that musicians were always bringing suits against Mac Miller when other songs are regularly released with uncleared samples. He added that Jacques Burvick ought to pay Mac Miller for the publicity the sample garnered for Aquarian Dream. 

Copyright law is complicated. To make sure you understand the nuances of the law and are always protected in the case of litigation, contact an experienced business attorney. 

Categorised in: Intellectual Property Law

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