Eminem‘s publishing company, Eight Mile Style, is taking Facebook to court, claiming the company used a song in an advert that’s substantially similar to Em’s Dr Dre-produced track Under The Influence without permission from the Detroit rapper.
However, Facebook’s lawyers are hitting back with the accusation that their song actually sounds like an unspecified Michael Jackson number, suggesting that Slim Shady and Dr Dre were the ones doing the ripping off. Facebook claim this makes them exempt from copyright infringement.
The advert in question, Airplane, aired online back in April to plug Facey’s new mobile software Home, and very quickly had its background music altered (altered version below). Eminem’s lawyers have suggested that people who viewed the ad noticed the similarities, hence the quick alterations, but say that a derivative of the song is still a copyright infringement.
They’re also claiming that Wieden + Kennedy, the agency behind the ad, specifically used the song to win the favour of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who’s apparently a big fan of ol’ Marshall Mathers III.
As for the claims that Dr Dre rips off the late, great MJ, Em’s lawyers are saying that Dre had nothing to do with the writing of Under The Influence in the first place.
Eight Mile Style are seeking $USD150,000 in damages. You can read the full complaint here.
Watch: Facebook Home – Airplane (altered version)
http://youtu.be/a9VRMJ5ABbw
Listen: Eminem – Under The Influence
(via The Hollywood Reporter)
