The German rapper, Anis Mohamed Ferchichi, who calls himself “Bushido” or “Sonny Black” is looking at international copyright infringement charges. Bushido is a rapper who is popular with neo-Nazis, having lyrical content that is banned in his own country... 1. Bushido has also been arrested for disorderly conduct, and says he would be selling drugs if he wasn’t a rapper 2. In November 2007, Norway’s black metal band Dimmu Borgir threatened to sue Bushido for using their music without permission 3. This time, Bushido has stolen music from the American Gothic group Nox Arcana, who is taking legal action against the rapper and his label.

 

Three songs written, performed, owned, and under registered copyright by Nox Arcana, originally released on their best-selling albums entitled Darklore Manor (2003) and Necronomicon (2004), were directly copied by Bushido and released on the album Von der Skyline Zum Bordstein Zurück (2006), re-released as a “Platinum edition” in 2007. According to Universal Music Group, the Bushido album containing Nox Arcana’s musical compositions has sold over 216,000 copies, “Platinum” in Germany.

The copied music - Listen here to song comparisons:

Nox Arcana: “Beyond Midnight”
copied by Bushido on track: “Weißt Du?”

Nox Arcana: “No Rest for the Wicked”
copied by Bushido on track: “Kurt Cobain”

Nox Arcana: “Cthulhu Rising”
copied by Bushido on track: “Blaus Licht”

Bushido’s copies encompass the original Nox Arcana recording, instruments and compositions. Bushido copied the music without Nox Arcana’s prior knowledge or permission. As such, this act constitutes an infringement of Nox Arcana’s copyright.

Nox Arcana’s representative says, “This is not a case of ’sampling’ in which a few notes are copied (which still requires the owner’s permission); this is as blatant of a case of copyright infringement as we have ever seen. Bushido actually took Nox Arcana’s recordings, including the complete melodies, arrangement and instrumentation, then simply rapped over top of the music. He did not ask for permission, nor did he credit Nox Arcana in any way. According to German and US copyright law, Bushido and his label are in for some very heavy fines in addition to money they made from the sales of the albums. Bushido may also face prison for a term of up to 5 years for each infringement.

Regarding this matter of Bushido stealing his music, Nox Arcana band founder, Joseph Vargo says, “I’ve dealt with punks like Bushido before. It’s a sad fact, but the music industry is filled with talentless thieves who steal from real artists, then try to hide behind their lawyers when they are caught. Bushido is just another punk. We’ve given him every opportunity to do the right thing and buy a legal license, but his attorney has done nothing but stall the inevitable lawsuit. The longer he drags it out, the more he will end up paying.”

Nox Arcana is currently pursuing Bushido and his record label to pay for the infringement. They ask any other bands who were victims of Bushido’s illegal actions, or former employees of Bushido, who would like to discuss this matter, to contact Nox Arcana. Information will be kept confidential.

Full article HERE.

sources:
www.NoxArcana.com

 

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