Question

Big Jim is a chart-topping hip hop artist well known for screaming the word "legendary" in his signature scratchy voice at least once in every song he records. Recently, another hip-hop artist, MC Hot-Take, recorded a song entitled "A New Legend Begins," in which he repeats a sample of Big Jim saying "legendary" throughout the refrain. Big Jim would like to sue MC Hot-Take for copyright infringement. Should his lawsuit be successful?

a. Yes, because Jim uses the word "legendary" so frequently, he likely owns a copyright that would prevent anyone from saying or singing the word in any recorded song.

b. Yes, because Big Jim's unique way of saying "legendary" is well known, it qualifies for protection under the fragmented literal similarity test.

c. No, because MC Hot-Take only copied one word from Big Jim's songs.

d. No, because Big Jim has not created any works that are entitled to copyright protection.

Answer 1

b. Yes, because Big Jim's unique way of saying "legendary" is well known, it qualifies for protection under the fragmented literal similarity test.

Note : As per fragmented literal similarity test uniqueness of saying word 'legendary' by Big Jim is protected and it cannot be copied by another artist.