Song View

The song became famous as a result of one of the longest and most significant copyright disputes in European music history. Producer Moses Pelham had taken a rhythm sequence lasting only about two seconds from Kraftwerk’s “Metall auf Metall” (1977), slowed it down slightly, and laid it down as a continuous loop beneath the track – without the band’s consent. Kraftwerk filed a lawsuit in 1999 alleging infringement of phonogram rights.
The case dragged on for nearly three decades through all levels of the court system, involving the German Federal Court of Justice multiple times, the German Federal Constitutional Court, and the European Court of Justice on two separate occasions. In April 2026, the ECJ issued a landmark ruling: the use could fall under the pastiche exception of EU copyright law. A pastiche is defined as a recognizable artistic engagement with or imitation of a work. In doing so, the court significantly lowered the barriers to sampling and strengthened artistic freedom.