DR DRE - DRE AND EMINEM FACE LAWSUIT

Rappers DR DRE and EMINEM are facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit for alleged copyright infringement.

London music publishers, MINDER MUSIC LTD, claim the Dre track, LET'S GET HIGH, illegally samples the 1980 FATBACK BAND hit, BACKSTROKIN' - which is owned by the company.

The track, co-written by Eminem and others, features on the Dre album, 2001 - which has sold 6.6 million copies in America to date.

The suit, which was filed last week (ends04APR03) in Los Angeles District Court, seeks $3.5 million (GBP2.3 million) in damages, according to website DOTMUSIC.

Dre, Eminem, INTERSCOPE RECORDS and UNIVERSAL MUSIC + VIDEO DISTRIBUTION are amongst those named in the suit.

But HOWARD KING, Dre's attorney, insists the track in question uses a "very common" bass riff which would not be subject to copyright infringement.

He adds, "They're seeking a ridiculous amount of money."