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Toronto Rapper Drake is slapped with a $10 million copyright lawsuit. The lawsuit began after Drake used an unpermitted sample from a song released by the artist Obrafour made in 2003 named ‘Oye Rhene.’

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According to the details of the lawsuit, Drake had emailed Obrafour to gain permission to sample the song while he was in the making of ‘Calling My Name.’ Obrafor’s lawsuit further indicates that after not receiving an email back, Drake went ahead and sampled the song anyways without obtaining consent. The initial email asking permission to test the piece was sent out on June 8th, 2022, with no response. A follow-up email was sent out, with no response to either email. The song was released a few days later, on June 17th, 2022, in Drake’s surprise album “Honestly, Nevermind.”

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In the lawsuit, Obrafor is suing under the Copyright Act for copyright infringement. Within the lawsuit, he is seeking all remedies afforded to him. This will include preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, monetary and damages. It will not be limited to actual damages, profits that are (in)directly attributable to Defendants’ infringing conduct and statutory damages. Under the Copyright Act, there is a fine of $150,000.00 per infringement.

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