U.S. Record Company Accuses Baby Vox for Copyright Infringement

The website of African American rapper Tupac Shakur, who died in 1996, posted a letter criticizing Baby Vox for using Tupac's material without permission.

At the center of contention is whether Baby Vox has infringed copyrights for their song "Ecstasy," the title song of the group's seventh album. On the website (www.2paclegacy.com) dedicated to Tupac Shakur, Amaru Records released a notice on April 8 entitled, "Official Amaru Statement on the latest Baby Vox release," that said, "Amaru is aware of the offending use of the Tupac Shakur material on the latest Baby Vox release.

At this time, Amaru is aggressively pursuing Baby Vox and its production company to end the unlicensed and unauthorized exploitation of Tupac Shakur's music, trademarks and personality rights."

Amaru's statement draws public attention because it is contrary to Baby Vox's claim that they used Tupac's material legally at the suggestion of U.S. hip-hop giant Bungalow Music. As the statement spreads among Internet users, suspicion over the legality of "Ecstasy" is growing.