Posts Tagged: "Tracy Chapman"

Minaj-Chapman Copyright Settlement is a Warning to Artists

Last week, documents were filed confirming that singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman accepted Onika Tanya Maraj’s (who performs rap under the stage name Nicki Minaj) Rule 68 Offer of Judgment, dated December 17, 2020, in the amount of $450,000, inclusive of all costs and attorney fees. In September 2020, the U.S. District Court of the Central District of California granted partial summary judgment in favor of Minaj, resolving a copyright infringement dispute originally filed in 2018 by Chapman over Minaj’s unauthorized use of Chapman’s 1988 single, “Baby Can I Hold You.” While the district court’s partial summary judgment ruling for Minaj said that Minaj had established a fair use defense to Chapman’s copyright infringement claims, it also said Chapman’s distribution claim should be tried and resolved by a jury, so the case moved forward.

California Court’s Finding of Fair Use for Nicki Minaj Affirms Public Benefit of Artistic Experimentation

In a ruling earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips of the Central District of California granted partial summary judgment in favor of Onika Tanya Maraj, who performs rap under the stage name Nicki Minaj, resolving a copyright infringement dispute originally filed in 2018 by singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman over Minaj’s unauthorized use of Chapman’s 1988 single “Baby Can I Hold You.” In ruling that Minaj had established a fair use defense to Chapman’s copyright infringement claims, Judge Phillips affirmed the important role of experimenting with copyrighted works prior to licensing as a common practice within the recording industry.