Notorious BIGs classic 1994 album Ready To Die has been taken off the shelves by a US judge after a jury ruled it contained an illegal sample.
The copyright infringement relates to the albums title track, which the jury ruled borrowed part of the Ohio Players 1992 track Singing In The Morning without permission. The record labels representing the band were awarded a total of $4.2m in damages, and the sales ban affects the album and title track in any form, including downloads and radio play.
Bad Boy Entertainment, the defendants, plan to appeal, and their lawyer said outside the Nashville court: "We think [the verdict] is without merit."
The rights to Singing In The Morning are owned by Bridgeport Music and Westbound Records, and owner Armen Boladian commented: "Weve just been battling this for such a long time we knew we were right."
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