Tracy Chapman Awarded $450,000 in Copyright Case Against Nicki Minaj

Minaj reacted to the legal action in February 2019. According to Rolling Stone, mentioning the action, Minaj suggested the interpolation was shielded by reasonable usage. She supposedly declared Chapman has “not properly registered her claim to the copyright in the Composition [‘Baby Can I Hold You’].” Per the electrical outlet, she for that reason affirmed Chapman does not possess the “copyright in issue and therefore lacks standing to bring the claims alleged in the Complaint.”

In regards to the production of “Sorry,” Minaj’s group protected it.

“[I]n the process of creation, no one approaches the original songwriter (the ‘rights holder’) for a license to experiment,” Minaj’s court short read, per The Hollywood Reporter. “The musicians just experiment. If something works, and the recording artist wants to release the song commercially, then the record label, managers, and attorneys get involved and seek the required permission. If it is granted, the recording is commercially released. If permission is denied, the recording is discarded; no one is harmed; and the experimentation begins anew.”

“Recording artists require this freedom to experiment, and rights holders appreciate the protocol as well,” the short proceeded, per the electrical outlet. “Often, the rights holder does not want to simply approve a use in the abstract–i.e., ‘any hip hop version of your song.’ The rights holder wants to hear the actual version before giving her permission. The plaintiff here, Tracy Chapman, wants to turn this process on its head.”