In a recent case that brought forth the issue of sampling of a
phonogram recording amounting to infringement, the Federal Court of
Justice, Germany on account of an appeal has put the particulars of
the matter in front of the Court of Justice of the European Union
(CJEU) for a preliminary ruling.
There was an unauthorized sampling of a 1977 recording owned by
electro band Kraftwerk. Ralf Hütter and Mr. Florian
Schneider-Esleben, members of the music group Kraftwerk, claimed
that Pelham GmbH sampled approximately two seconds of a rhythm
sequence from the track "Metall für Metall"
and incorporated the sample as a continuous loop and with minimal
modifications, in the defendant's Sabrina Setlur's track
'Nur mir'. The Kraftwerk band members initiated proceedings
in the German courts claiming that Pelham GmbH, producers of the
infringing phonogram, had infringed their exclusive rights of
reproduction in the original work.[1]
