Posts Tagged ‘Timbaland’

Timbaland Shells Out for “Spazz” Sample; More Copyright News

Posted on May 28th, 2010 • Filed under Uncategorized • 1 Comment

Timbaland just settled a copyright infringement lawsuit alleging unauthorized use of a sample of 1960s garage band the Elastik Band (pictured)’s “Spazz.” Did you know the 2007 controversy over Timbaland’s alleged misappropriation of a Scandinavian chiptune artist’s work has its own Wikipedia page?

In 2013, copyright holders will begin to be able to exercise their rights to cancel assignments of rights under the 1976 Copyright Act. Music labels have been quietly gritting their teeth about this for years now, and the industry’s anxiety level is only going to increase.

Yahoo, Facebook and eBay are all on Youtube’s side in its court battle with Viacom. In related news, court documents reveal that the two nearly settled all infringement claims through a licensing deal which would have netted Viacom close to $600 million; Viacom pushed for $700 million and the deal fell apart.

Why do politicians keep using unlicensed music in their commercials? Arguably, because such uses amount to fair use, given that they’re supposedly non-commercial. Of course, it could also be because political commercials don’t run for very long and they think they won’t be caught. What do you think?