Dre Bassline lawsuit

[uqbar]

Anyone have the details on this? Press accounts are confusing - is it a sample or a new performance of the bassline? Did they prove prior knowledge of the song?

I'm a little bothered by this case - if it's as I understand it, its a complete shift from past rulings.

mark

[DeafinONEear]

first off, dude, the hairy, stinky troll is is scaring me. shink 'em down (email sonicgirl if you can't do it and she will do it for you) so that I can tyoe without shaking.

Second, what song is this on? Super interested. And why the hell doesn't this happen in the jazz world? I know it's all about borrowing, but you would think it should happen some time or another....

[uqbar]

Here's what I found in Billboard...

A LA jury found that Dr. Dre illegally used 'segments' (whatever that means) of the 1980 tune "Backstrokin'" in his song "Let's Get High" from the album "Dr. Dre 2001,"

Minder music sought 3.5 mil and got 1.5 mil.

In the past, my understanding was that a bassline does not a song make. For example Billie Jean's bassline line was a lift from some obscure recording - but nothing came of that.

Shrinking that avatar could be work since it's animated - I'll be sick of it soon and it'll go away once that happens...

mark

[eeldip]

what is with the glowing toe on that troll? some sort of magic toe ring +1?


from what i understand, if any part of an arrangement becomes central to a song, you can copyright it. lots of grey area here, but basically if you have a very distinctive hooky bassline you can copyright it, but if your bass line is following the root of the chord changes to the beat of the bass drum you cant.

so probably the bassline from the humpty dance is part of the copyright of the song (so distinctive that they even self-reference it in the lyrics).


i would be concerned if they started extending this grey area out to less important bass lines. cause, really, there arent that many possible funk basslines out there... people are gonna be stepping all over eachother.

i cant believe that dr. dre would want this in front of a jury? perhaps they were counting on people being sympathetic to him cause he is famous? i would want this in front of a judge...

[soundguy]

...wont hide!


Ok, so, did he get sued over using a sample of a recording someone else made, or over reperforming some notes someone wrote on a piece of paper?

dave

[discs of tron]

as far as i know, all of dre's post-n.w.a. stuff has been re-played by studio guys.