數位取樣容許性之著作權爭議－－以美國聯邦巡迴上訴法院相關判決為探討核心

The Admissibility of Digital Sampling on Copyright Issues Focusing on Related American Cases

數位科技之出現對於音樂產業可謂雙面刃，當聲音得以被極精確地被產出及錄製，同樣的科技亦得以使其他人未經授權，而從著作權人之著作進行數位取樣，進而混和成新的錄音著作。然縱觀音樂史，藝術家及作家不斷地由其前輩及同濟擷取觀念，數位取樣不過是最近的一種方式讓藝術家得以由現存著作擷取片段而將之融人新的作品，當數位取樣使得藝術家得以將音樂創意之界限往外推展時，卻也衝擊了著作權法之傳統，而衍生了大量的訴訟，當音樂產業之相關當事人投人爭辯不休之內鬥時，法院仍力圖調合著作權法之立法目的－保護既存著作，然不進而抑制創意。著作權法企求平衡著作權人經濟之誘因及其他創作者之創新，數位取樣乃發展於美國現行著作權法立法之後廣泛之音樂實務，然司法實務之紊亂使得音樂產業進人對數位取樣戒慎恐懼之氛圍，導致於音樂產業對於數位取樣之合法性陷於不確定之狀態，如何面對恐怕為未來司法及學術需努力之方向。

The advent of digital technology is a double-edged sword for the music industry. While sound can now be produced and recorded with great precision, the same technology also enables others, without authorization from the copyright owner, to reproduce or 'digitally sample' a sound recording and then incorporate the copied material into a new sound recording. Throughout the history of music, artists and composers have stolen ideas from their predecessors and contemporaries. Digital sampling represents the latest method through which artists take pieces of pre-existing works and incorporate them into new compositions. While digital sampling allows artists to push the boundaries of musical creativity, it likewise pushes at the conventions of copyright law, spawning a myriad of litigation. As parties within the music industry engage in a contentious internal battle, copyright law struggles to reconcile its fundamental purpose to protect existing works without further stifling creativity. Copyright law looks to balance the interests of copyright owner’s economic incentives and the creation of new ideas by other authors. Digital sampling is a widespread musical that postdates existing copyright law. Judicial confusion has led to uncertainty in the music industry about the legality of digital sampling. It is the duty for us to struggle to solve.