On Tuesday a federal appeals court ruled that artists must pay for every musical sample in their work.

The ruling says artists must pay for not only large samples of another artist's work, but also snippets — smaller notes, chords and beats that are not the artist's original composition — which had previously been legal, according to The Associated Press.

Actual Court Ruling:
http://pacer.ca6.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/getopn.pl?OPINION=04a0297p.06

Court Rules That All Musical Samples Must Be Paid For