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1: Netflix’s “Scam” Fyre Fest Documentary Continues to Unravel, Hit with 3rd Copyright Infringement Suit
First off today, The Fashion Law reports that the Netflix documentary Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened has become the subject of a third copyright infringement lawsuit as Austin Mills, an attendee of the ill-fated festival, claims that it used 5 clips he recorded without his permission in the film and even used some of his content in the film’s Emmy campaign.
The movie details the history of the Fyre Festival, a disastrous music festival that was meant to to have taken place in April 2017 but, instead, left travelers to it stranded with no entertainment and limited food and water. The film is already controversial over its connections with Jerry Media, a marketing company that was heavily involved in the festival and was largely responsible for pushing it on social media.
However, legally the film has fallen under assault more for copyright infringement with several attendees reporting that the filmmakers did not obtain their permission to use their footage. Mills is the latest of them, saying that the film not only used 5 clips of his but included some of his footage in their Emmy campaign. As a result, he has filed a lawsuit and is seeking both injunctive relief and monetary damages for the unlicensed use of his work.
2: Appeals Court Upholds Fair Use Ruling in “Party and Bullshit” Copyright Case
Next up today, Chris Cooke at Complete Music Update reports that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court decision that found the use of the line “Party and Bullshit” was a fair use.
The case was filed by poet and spoken word artist Abiodun Oyewole who wrote the poem When the Revolution Comes. However, the best-known line from it, “Party and Bullshit” has appeared in songs including the 1993 Notorious BIG track Party and Bullshit and Rita Ora’s 2016 song 2012 song How We Do (Party), which sampled the Notorious BIG track.
According to Oyewole, he didn’t sue in the 90s because he didn’t want to cause “hassle” for the family of Notorious BIG following his death in 1997. However, after the Ora song, he chose to file a lawsuit. Still, the lower court ruled that the use of the line was a fair use. Oyewole appealed but now the Second Circuit has upheld that ruling, saying that his arguments are “without merit.”
3: Mercedes Benz Calls Detroit Artists “Desperate” In Ongoing Copyright Battle
Finally today, Keith Estiler at Art Beast reports that Mercedes-Benz has hit back at a group of four Detroit artists saying that they are “desperate” and that their “motions to dismiss are baseless.”
The case revolves around a series of ads created by Mercedes that featured artwork by noted Detroit street artists. The artists, Daniel Bombardier, Maxx Gramajo, Jeff Soto, and James “Dabls” Lewis, had complained to Mercedes about the ads but Mercedes chose to file a proactive lawsuit against the artists, which prompted them to file a motion to dismiss the claims.
Mercedes has since responded, saying that the motion has no merit and that the defendants are desperate. In a public statement, a lawyer representing the artists said that the artists are indeed desperate, “desperate to defend their rights, protect their livelihoods and prevent their artwork from being used by Mercedes against their will.”
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