Rhythm Sampled for Free Use

CK - Washington.   A two-second rhythmic stretch, sampled by musicians from another musicians' recording, triggered litigation for a copyright violation and a judgment in favor of the original creators. On November 20, 2008, the German Supreme Court for Civil Matters in Karlsruhe remanded the matter to the Hamburg Court of Appeals for an examination of the free use doctrine as applied to music sampling. While §85 of the German Copyright Act protects the first work, its §24(1) contains exceptions permitting the free use of others' creations. A recycled melody remains protected but the sound bit at issue deserves further factual exploration and leg…