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ARTICLE · 04 JUNE 2025

Music Sampling And Copyright Law: Creativity vs Infringement

Khurana & Khurana, Advocates and IP Attorneys
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Music sampling—the practice of taking snippets or "samples" of existing songs and using them in a new musical composition—has become central to modern music, especially in hip-hop, EDM, and pop.

IndiaMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
Aniruddh Singh Raghuvanshi
Aniruddh Singh Raghuvanshi
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Music sampling—the practice of taking snippets or "samples" of existing songs and using them in a new musical composition—has become central to modern music, especially in hip-hop, EDM, and pop. Artists remix, reinterpret, and re-contextualize older music to create something new. However, this process is also fraught with legal risks. Copyright laws protect the rights of original creators, and unauthorized sampling can lead to claims of infringement, heavy penalties, and litigation. This article explores the thin line between artistic inspiration and copyright violation in music sampling, with a focus on Indian law and comparative global perspectives.

Understanding Music Sampling

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