In the US, a workable defense to a suit of music sampling is the doctrine of fair use. Fair use has been defined as “the right to copy a portion of a copyrighted work without permission because the use is for a limited purpose, such as for educational use in a classroom or to comment upon, criticize, or parody the work being sampled.”

Legal restrictions have arisen against sampling. The moral argument against this is that it restricts creativity. Many affirm that no song or genre is brand new, only a modification of something prior or a product of combinations.