The scheduling conference in the copyright-infringement lawsuit filed by 8 Mile Style, the song publisher for hip-hop superstar Eminem, against Facebook and ad agency Wieden & Kennedy over the music used in the “Airplane” commercial for Facebook’s Home Android overlay, is set for Aug. 5 at 11 a.m. ET at the Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse in Detroit.
8 Mile Style filed suit in May in federal court in Detroit against the social network and the agency, alleging that the original version of the ad, since removed from YouTube, used music from the rapper’s 2000 song, “Under the Influence.”
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At the time that 8 Mile Style approached Wieden & Kennedy about the issue in April, and the advertising agency responded that there were no grounds to assert copyright, as the music in question was sampled from a 1991 Michael Jackson song, “Give In to Me.”
Facebook and Wieden & Kennedy denied the accusations by 8 Mile Style earlier this week, telling the court in their response:
Plaintiffs’ copyright infringement claim fails because the music contained in the commercial is not substantially similar to protectable expression contained in the musical composition “Under the Influence.”
Source: All Facebook
