3 Count: 90mh Sample
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1: Sony Sues Creator of Viral TikTok Song Over Uncleared Sample: ‘Flagrant Infringement’
First off today, Bill Donahue at Billboard reports that Sony Music has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the independent rapper Trefuego over allegations that the artist failed to clear a sample used prominently in his biggest hit.
The case looks at the song 90mh, which was first released in 2019 and went on to be a TikTok sensation. However, according to Sony, the song uses a looping sample from a 1986 song named Reflections by the Japanese composer Toshifumi Hinata.
Sony further explained that it first took action against the song in January 2021, sending letters to Trefuego alerting him to the “infringing nature” of the track. After that, Sony filed takedown notices with major streaming platforms in August 2022. In December 2022, Sony filed its first lawsuit against Trefuego in Arizona, but has now refiled the case in a Texas federal court.
2: Moviebox Wins YouTube Copyright Case Against Singer Akram Rahi
Next up today, BizAsia reports that, in Pakistan, a court has ruled against musician Akram Rahi in his case against two record labels, Movie Box Megastores and Oriental Star Agencies.
The labels filed the lawsuit claiming that Rahi was fraudulently filing takedown notices over twelve songs that the labels had used in music videos. The takedown notices resulted in one of the labels’ main accounts being shuttered and several others facing possible closure.
The labels had previously gotten several injunctions against Rahi over the notices, but here the court has found Rahi financially liable. Though the exact amounts of damages is yet to be determined, the court has already ordered Rahi to pay £150,000 ($183,000) to cover attorneys’ fees and court costs.
3: Nigerian National Indicted for Wire and Copyright Fraud Scheme
Finally today, The United States Attorney’s Office announces that they have charged a Nigerian national, Anyanwu Benjamin Chizitere with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of wire fraud and three counts of copyright fraud.
According to the indictment, between February 2018 and April 2022, Chizitere and others posed as the rightsholders for more than 800 different books. They then contracted with more than 600 voice actors to create audiobooks based on those works that were then distributed online.
The indictment goes on to allege that he was paid more than $250,000 in royalties based on these books, even though the voice actors and others involved were not paid. As such, the government has charged him with both wire fraud and copyright related charges.
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