Courtroom battle looms between singers over copyright infringement

A row over the approved use of a previously recorded song in a new album has two leading artists in the music world engaged in a war of words and a potential courtroom showdown.

As first reported by the Blast, four-time Grammy Award winner Tracy Chapman filed a lawsuit in October against singer-songwriter Nicki Minaj for copyright infringement, alleging the latter used some of the same lyrics, melodies and beats from Chapman's song "Baby Can I Hold You" in her new tune "Sorry" without Chapman's authorization. The song, which features rapper Nas in backup vocals, was initially meant to be featured on Minaj's latest studio album, but the 36-year-old songstress left it out because Chapman did not grant her permission.

Song leaked online, radio
The problem, according to court documents, is Minaj went ahead and recorded the song anyway – sans Chapman's sanctioned approval – and the track ultimately wound up in the possession of Funkmaster Flex, a well-known deejay in R&B and rap circles. Flex shortly thereafter leaked the song to the public by posting it to his Twitter page, where it subsequently went viral, re-tweeted thousands of times by his followers. The Blast also reported that the song was played on the radio as well.

Chapman has since filed a lawsuit against Minaj directly, claiming that she is guilty of copyright infringement and seeks an injunction against the artist. If granted, Minaj would be forced to relinquish the rights to the song, preventing her from ever profiting off of it.

Minaj believes she's in the right
By all indications, Minaj is indeed sorry for having included Chapman's intellectual property in her "Sorry" song, but she's not fully acquiescing to the multi-platinum recording artist's requests. The New York Post's Page Six reported that Minaj never intended for her spin on Chapman's "Baby Can I Hold You" – the song in question – to get out to the public, having not received the go-ahead from Chapman. But even if she did, Minaj and her legal team contend that the portion of the song in question falls under the fair use doctrine, which permits the limited use of copyrighted material without first getting the go ahead from the copyright owner. As a result, Minaj and the attorneys representing her argue the lawsuit is baseless and ought to be thrown out altogether.

It's unclear, as of yet, when the case will be tried before a judge or what damages Chapman seeks from Minaj.

This is only the latest example of entertainment law ripped from the headlines. Whether you're an actor, recording artist or anyone else with intellectual property, the Law Offices of Donald W. Hudspeth, P.C. will go to the mat to defend your rights. We're prepared to represent your interests and will devote every available resource to win. Please contact us to learn more.

Categorised in: Entertainment Law

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