Music Sampling and Moral Rights
Would a Copyright Dilution Statute Protect Against Reputational Harm?
“In an example of life imitating art, Merton feels that Ye and his fan base have put a gun to her head with respect to the song use, as she claims online harassment and abuse from Ye fans who disagree with her position.” – Sara Gold
This article was inspired by a copyright infringement lawsuit against Ye (Kanye West) in California federal court. Ye sampled the song of a Jewish musician despite being denied permission based on the musician’s desire to avoid association with Ye, who is known for his anti-Semitic beliefs. The lawsuit, filed in March 2025, alleges copyright infringement and also alleges that the musician has received anti-Semitic backlash as a result of the unauthorized sampling.
Although trademark law forbids reputationally harmful infringement, no such doctrine exists for copyright infringement. As a result, copyright infringement analysis does not directly take into account the infringement’s reputational impact on the author/artist.
Although in some contexts reputational harm to an original author could be seen as a necessary byproduct of free speech, other times there may be no free-speech justification for the morally damaging reuse of copyrighted material. This article, published in the American Bar Association’s GPSolo magazine, explores whether the law should have a separate remedy for copyright infringements that cause reputational harm to the original author and that do not otherwise satisfy fair use.
Citation: Sara Gold, Music Sampling and Moral Rights: Would a Copyright Dilution Statute Protect Against Reputational Harm?, GPSolo, 52-56 (Nov./Dec. 2025).