A 25-Year-Fight Over a 2-Second Sample
Summary
The article traces a decades-long music-sampling case (Kraftwerk vs. Pelham) and the ECJ ruling that the post-2021 use can be protected as pastiche. It explains why the case stretched for years due to EU/German legal layering and evolving exemptions, and it discusses the potential precedent for sampling and derivative works in the EU. The piece is relevant for creators navigating copyright risk in AI-generated music and other digital content.