Lucasfilm Sues Dr. Dre Over Sound Sample

21-Apr-00

Lucasfilm, Ltd. has sued rap artist Dr. Dre for sampling onto his latest album the ""THXÆ Deep Note,"" the sound which accompanies the logo of the digital surround system that opens films with THX soundtracks. According to a published report, Andre Young (a.k.a. Dr. Dre) had asked Lucusfilm for permission to use the sound on his album, Chronic 2001, but was denied. He proceeded to use the ""THX Deep Note"" to open the album, triggering the suit. Kim Yost, marketing manager for THX, a division of Lucusfilm, said the sound is ""one of the first sounds to be copyrighted,"" and that Lucusfilm considers the unauthorized use a very serious matter. In a separate copyright matter involving the rapper, Dr. Dre earlier this week threatened to sue Napster Inc. if the song-swap software provider did not take his music off its directory by Friday. His action closely followed a copyright infringement suit filed against Napster by the hard rock band Metallica. Source: Pro Sound News