Nicki Minaj lands a win in Tracy Chapman copyright lawsuit before judge recommends remaining dispute got to jury
- A judge ruled Wednesday that Minaj’s use of Chapman’s Baby Can I Hold You constitutes ‘fair use’
- The ruling protects a common practice of developing new work based on existing material, and requesting license from the original artist before release
- Minaj based her 2017 song Sorry off Chapman’s track from her 1988 self-titled debut album, but Chapman refused to grant permission
- Although Minaj dropped the track from her 2018 album Queen, a copy of the unreleased song ended up with DJ Flex, who played it on the air in NYC
- The judge ruled that the dispute over whether Minaj provided the music to DJ Flex would need to go to jury
Nicki Minaj has landed a significant win in a copyright lawsuit brought against her by Tracy Chapman.
A judge ruled Wednesday that the 10-time Grammy nominee did not commit copyright infringement in her song based on Chapman’s Baby Can I Hold You.
US district judge Virginia A Phillips found that her use of the song constitutes ‘fair use,’ protecting a common practice in the music industry of developing new music based on existing work, and requesting license from the original artist before release.
Big win: Nicki Minaj has landed a significant win in a copyright lawsuit brought against her by Tracy Chapman (pictured in August, 2018)
Judge Phillips wrote: ‘Artists usually experiment with works before seeking licenses from rights holders and rights holders typically ask to see a proposed work before approving a license.
‘A ruling uprooting these common practices would limit creativity and stifle innovation within the music industry.’
Minaj based her 2017 track Sorry (featuring Nasir Bin Olu) off Chapman’s song from her 1988 self-titled debut album.
Her representatives sought permission from Chapman, who repeatedly refused, citing a blanket policy she has against such licensing.
Art imitating art: A judge ruled Wednesday that the 10-time Grammy nominee did not commit copyright infringement in her song based on Chapman’s Baby Can I Hold You (pictured in January, 2014)
Fair use: US district judge Virginia A Phillips found that her use of the song constitutes ‘fair use,’ protecting a common practice in the music industry of developing new music based on existing work, and requesting license from the original artist before release (pictured in May, 2019)
Although Sorry was dropped from Minaj’s 2018 album Queen, a copy of the unreleased track DJ Flex, a New York radio personality who played it on the air.
Portions of the song later played on The Breakfast Club, and it’s since become widely available online.
Chapman accused Minaj of providing DJ Flex with the track, but she and Flex have both denied it come from her or her representatives.
Oldie but goodie: Minaj based her 2017 track Sorry (featuring Nasir Bin Olu) off Chapman’s song from her 1988 self-titled debut album
Request denied: Her representatives sought permission from Chapman, who repeatedly refused, citing a blanket policy she has against such licensing
Bootleg release: Although Sorry was dropped from Minaj’s 2018 album Queen, a copy of the unreleased track DJ Flex, a New York radio personality who played it on the air
The Pink Friday artist’s legal team argued that artists should be free to create work based on existing material, without fearing legal action from the original artist when pursuing license.
The attorney stated: ‘Such free-flowing creativity is important to all recording artists, but particularly in hip hop.
‘With that category of music, a recording artist typically goes into the studio and experiments with dozens of different ‘beats’ or snippets of melodies, before hitting upon a pleasing combination.’
Although the judge agreed, she ruled that the dispute over whether Minaj provided the music to DJ Flex would need to go to jury.
To the jury: The judge ruled that Chapman’s dispute over whether Minaj provided the music to DJ Flex would need to go to jury (pictured in July, 2006)