Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal Volume 13 | Number 4 Article 3 1-1-1991 Don't Stop That Funky Beat: The Essentiality of Digital Sampling to Rap Music Jason H. Marcus Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/ hastings_comm_ent_law_journal Part of the Communications Law Commons, Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Commons, and the Intellectual Property Law Commons Recommended Citation Jason H. Marcus, Don't Stop That Funky Beat: The Essentiality of Digital Sampling to Rap Music, 13 Hastings Comm. & Ent. L.J. 767 (1991). Available at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/hastings_comm_ent_law_journal/vol13/iss4/3 This Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal by an authorized editor of UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Don't Stop That Funky Beat: The Essentiality of Digital Sampling to Rap Music by JASON H. MARCUS* Table of Contents I. H istory of Rap ........................................... 769 II. Sampling as a Postmodern Art Form ...................... 772 III. The Copyright Act ....................................... 773 A. W hat is Protectable? ................................. 773 B. Infringem ent ......................................... 775 C. Applying Low Tech Law to High Tech Music ......... 778 IV. Sampling Cases Are Not Reaching the Courtroom ......... 781 A. Many in the Recording Industry Are Reluctant to Litigate ............ .................................. 781 B . Fair U se .............................................. 783 V. Proposal: A Voluntary and Cooperative Scheme for Licensing with Negotiation Guidelines ..................... 785 A. Considerations and Examples of the Sampling Problem ............................................. 785 B. Schem e .............................................. 788 VI.