Obrafour sues Drake for copyright infringement
Obrafour, a Ghanaian hip-life artist, has filed a lawsuit against Canadian rapper Drake for copyright infringement. The claim is that Drake used a sample from Obrafour’s song “Oye Ohene (Remix)” in his track “Calling My Name” without permission.
Obrafour claims that Drake and his team had approached him seeking permission to use the sample, but their request was denied. Despite this, Drake went ahead and released the track, causing damage to Obrafour’s reputation and potential loss of royalties.
Lawyers for Obrafour are seeking at least $10 million in damages from Drake for the unauthorized use of the sample. They have filed the case in the Southern District of New York, requesting that the court enters a judgment that Drake willfully infringed Obrafour’s copyrighted work in violation of the Copyright Act.
Drake is not the first Hollywood artist to face such lawsuits for unauthorized use of samples. Other artists, such as Kanye West, Robin Thicke, and Pharrell Williams, have also faced similar lawsuits, resulting in substantial payouts to the original artists or their estates. Obtaining clearance for any samples used in music is important to avoid legal issues.
The outcome of the lawsuit between Obrafour and Drake will have implications for both artists and the wider music industry on how to obtain proper clearance before using any copyrighted material. It remains to be seen how the legal proceedings will play out.
