A federal judge's order halting all sales of a 1994 breakout rap album because of copyright violations could have a widespread effect on the hip-hop genre.
U.S. District Judge Todd Campbell Friday put an immediate stop to all sales of "Ready to Die" by the late Notorious B.I.G. after a Nashville jury ruled the title track illegally sampled "Singing in the Morning," by the Ohio Players, the Nashville Tennessean reported Saturday.
Bad Boy Entertainment, Universal Records and executive producer Sean "Diddy" Combs were ordered to pay $3.5 million in punitive damages and at least $733,000 in direct damages plus interest to Armen Boladian, owner of Bridgeport Music and Westbound Records.
To "vindicate the integrity of the copyright law," Campbell banned all store sales, Internet downloads and radio play of "Ready to Die," the newspaper said.
The ruling and harsh penalty are expected to make waves in the rap industry, which routinely takes beats or melodies from older hits in the practice known as sampling.
© Copyright 2006 by United Press International
