The Black Keys have once again been forced to take legal action against companies trading on the band’s sound. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the band, duo Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach, have filed lawsuits against Pinnacle Entertainment and Manhattan Production Music for copyright infringement, after using soundalikes the band claim sound a little too alike.
Manhattan Production Music has been accused of producing a track for commercial use that sounds distinctly similar to The Black Keys song Howlin’ For You from the duo’s 2010 album Brothers. The track created by Manhattan Production Music was then used in two commercials by Pinnacle Entertainment, a company which runs casinos throughout the US.
The Black Keys are claiming that the first commercial run by Pinnacle Entertainment for Pinnacle Casino used music “substantially similar” to Howlin’ For You, while the second Pinnacle Entertainment commercial (for a different casino) uses “infringing music”.
At this point, Pinnacle has made no comment on the lawsuit but after the news broke this morning the potentially damaging commercials were removed from the company’s YouTube account.
The new Black Keys lawsuit follows the band’s successful settlement over copyright infringement with Home Depot and Pizza Hut.
