Nicki Minaj is one step closer to being free from her legal dispute with singer and songwriter Tracy Chapman.
This morning, Judge Virginia A. Phillips ruled that Minaj did not engage in any copyright infringement in her unreleased song “Sorry,” which samples Chapman’s song “Baby Can I Hold You.” In 2018, Chapman sued Minaj claiming that Mrs. Petty never had permission to use her song but Judge Phillips ruled in favour of Nikki, citing the fair-use doctrine.
Although Minaj won this most recent battle, the legal war with Chapman is not quite over.
While Minaj never officially released ‘Sorry’ despite publicly asking to Chapman for permission to use her song on her album ‘Queen’ the track did leak online after Funk master Flex played the song on the radio in August 2018. The court now must determine whether Minaj infringed upon Chapman’s rights by distributing the song over the radio