Author: JD

THIS COPYRIGHT SHIT IS GETTING CRAZY Pt. 1 If you need evidence of just how ridiculous and broken copyright law has become, look no further than the legal squall generated by Lil Wayne¹s track I Feel Like Dying. Urband & Lazar Music Publishing are suing Lil Wayne for the use of an uncleared sample from a track by Karma-Ann Swanepoel. That¹s a business suing, not the actual creator of the track. Oh, and they want to see financial data from the album Tha Carter III. I Feel Like Dying isn¹t on Tha Carter III, but: a lawyer for Urband & Lazar argues that Lil Wayne promoted the album by singing that song in concert and allowing fans to download it for free on his Web site. So they¹re looking for a slice of money from album sales on a track that wasn¹t even on the album. Let¹s just take a moment or two to pull up a chair, and ponder this: Lil Wayne uses a sample ­ uncleared, admittedly ­ on a track he gave away. So he¹s being sued on the basis, presumably, that someone who heard the sample might have gone on to buy the album ­ a someone who wouldn¹t have done so otherwise. Pt. 2 Rapper Lil Wayne is suing the producer of a song he performed that allegedly sampled another singer¹s work without permission. A lawsuit filed last year against Lil Wayne accuses him of copyright infringement, saying he failed to secure permission to sample folk singer Karma-Ann Swanepoel¹s song ³Once² on his track ³I Feel Like Dying.² A lawsuit filed last week by the rapper¹s lawyers says Rebel Rock Productions Inc., of Coconut Creek, Fla., produced ³I Feel Like Dying² and was responsible for obtaining any necessary licensing agreements.