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ILAW Response: Copyright Infringement is a Middle Class Crime

LawMeme's James Grimmelmann, responding to a discussion here @ ILAW about music sampling: "Copyright infringement is a middle-class crime. The rich just pay up; the poor have more pressing concerns. You see a similar effect in sampling: P. Diddy ponies up to get the rights to samples, while judgment-proof minor rappers who distribute their works outside of the 'official' system completely ignore the legal issues. It's the people in the middle for whom copyright concerns are a major irritant."