Emimem Sues Facebook: Will The Real Slim Shady Please Log On?
Eminem is suing Facebook for what his management says is blatant plagiarism-- and an admission of wrongdoing from the get-go.
Rather than, oh, doing the smart thing and avoiding litigation, Facebook apparently hired an ad agency that used Eminem's music to please Mark Zuckerberg, then vaguely altered it even though they knew it was, well, basically Eminem's music. Facebook then allegedly kept the ad, and fired back by saying that Dr. Dre stole from Michael Jackson. What?!?
OK, artists influence each other, even sample each other. And then there is, of course, plagiarism.
The controversy stems from an Eminem song that was used in an ad for "Facebook Home". But it's more complicated than that. Apparently, the ad company used Eminem to "curry favor" with founder Mark Zuckerberg. Yes, apparently 'ol Zuckie has a fondness for Slim Shady, and the ad agency targeted it to win the bid.
Eight Mile Style, LLC, the company that holds and administers the rights to Eminem's music, filed a lawsuit against Facebook on Monday. The complaint states that at an April event to introduce "Facebook Home," its new mobile software, an ad called "Airplane" debuted, set to music that was near-identical to Eminem's "Under the Influence."
And, more complicated, Wieden + Kennedy, the Portland, Oregon based ad firm Facebook used, cherry-picked their alleged theft "in an effort to curry favor with Facebook by catering to Zuckerberg's personal likes and interests."
Their response? Attack another hip-hop heavyweight and Eminem collaborator, saying Dr. Dre stole a song from Michael Jackson. Ummm...
The ad later appeared online with a different soundtrack. So, the suit claims, your average Joe would have noticed the striking similarity at the event, and Facebook execs knew they just couldn't use the music - but the deal to use the ad altogether was thusly sealed, because Zuckerberg liked Eminem and therefore the ad.
Sneaky, sneaky. Not enough, though, Eight Mile says - because they own the rights to derivates, too. Altering music to avoid being sued for copyright infringement isn't enough.
"The alteration of the Airplane advertisement was an admission that Facebook knew it had infringed on the Eminem/D12 Composition," the complaint read. And the reply that blamed Dr. Dre was apparently "brimming with bellicose language and replete with gross factual inaccuracies." that "a simple Google search would have revealed."
We'll see how this shakes out in court, but Eminem might just be brave enough to take on the titan Facebook.