Even if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the Black Keys aren't too pleased with a Louisiana casino's commercials. The Ohio rockers have filed a lawsuit in New York federal court against Pinnacle Entertainment, who run the L'Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles.
And Manhattan Production Music, a company that makes music for commercial advertising, claiming the companies used their Brothers track "Howlin' for You" in advertisements. The complaint alleges that a September ad for the L'Auberge Casino used music "substantially similar" to "Howlin' for You," and also claims Pinnacle used "infringing music" in an ad for another casino the following month.
If companies are unable or unwilling to secure licensing rights to popular songs, they often hire music production houses to create similar-sounding pieces of music for their advertisements. The melody or key usually sports enough variation to avoid lawsuits, but the Black Keys assert a "blatant and purposeful infringement" of copyrights in their complaint.
No comments:
Post a Comment