Rapper Lil Wayne has been granted extra time to prepare for his copyright infringement trial over his use of folk singer KARMA-ANN SWANEPOEL's track ONCE.
The Lollipop hitmaker, real name Dwayne Carter, Jr., is accused of illegally sampling the tune in his song I Feel Like Dying, which does not feature on Wayne's Grammy-winning album Tha Carter III, but was used in its promotion.
Swanepoel filed suit against the hip-hop star earlier this year (09) and the case was due to go to trial in New Orleans, Louisiana on 26 October (09).
But Wayne and his label bosses at Universal Music Group, who have also been named as defendants, have succeeded in having the court battle delayed.
During a hearing on Tuesday (11Aug09), U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman approved the defendants' request to postpone the trial to give them more time to prepare, although a new start date has yet to be set.
Wayne has previously denied he was responsible for picking Swanepoel's song to incorporate into his track; he is taking legal action of his own against the producers at Florida-based company Rebel Rock Productions Inc. for failing to clear the sample first.
I Feel Like Dying is not the only song which has landed Wayne in trouble for copyright infringement - he's also faced contention for Mrs. Officer and Playing With Fire.