The legal calendar of the entertainment industry had an interesting point on its hands for months: a copyright trial that challenged Tracy Chapman, the revered and withdrawn singer-songwriter, against rapper Nicki Minaj.
But the trial should not be. Late last month, the parties agreed to a ruling on copyright infringement against Minaj, and a $ 450,000 payment to Chapman, according to documents released Thursday in California federal court, where the case is being adjudicated.
Chapman sued Minaj at the end of 2018 for copyright infringement due to a song called ‘Sorry’, which was heavily borrowed from Chapman’s ‘Baby Can I Hold You’, released in 1988. that Minaj’s song, which she recorded with rapper Nas, was never officially released, although it was played on the radio by Funkmaster Flex, a well-known DJ on New York radio station Hot 97.
Chapman accused Minaj of using ‘Baby Can I Hold You’ without permission, which she said Minaj asked for but was refused. Yet Minaj argued that her creation of ‘Sorry’, even without a Chapman license, was protected by the doctrine of ‘fair use’ – an exception to copyright law that allows creators to borrow copyrighted material under certain conditions.
Their dispute has raised neat questions for musicians and the companies behind it: Can artists be held liable for copyright infringement for work in progress? Do artists need permission to experiment in the studio?
In September, Judge Virginia A. Phillips, of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, agreed with Minaj on the question of fair use. In a summary ruling, Judge Phillips wrote that “uprooting” the usual practice of allowing artists to experiment privately would “limit creativity and stifle innovation in the music industry.”
But the judge allowed the case to be heard on the question of how the song moved to Funkmaster Flex. Chapman’s side claims that Minaj leaked it, pointing to material correspondence between the two. Minaj said she did not send the track, and Funkmaster Flex said he got it from one of his bloggers, according to the judge’s ruling.
If Minaj had leaked the song herself, or authorized its release through intermediaries, she could have been significantly punished. In court documents, it appears that Minaj’s lawyers made an offer of $ 450,000 on December 17, “including all costs and attorney fees incurred so far,” and that Chapman’s team accepted it on December 30.
In a statement Friday, Chapman said she was pleased with the result, “which confirms that artists’ rights are protected by law and must be respected by other artists.”
“As a songwriter and independent publisher, I’m known for protecting my work,” Chapman added. ‘I have never approved the use of my songs for examples or asked for an example. This lawsuit was a last resort. ‘
When asked by Minaj’s lawyer Peter W. Ross for comment on the outcome of the case, he simply said: ‘We only agreed for some reason. It would have cost us more to be tried. ”