3 Count: Over The Hump

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1: ‘My Humps’ v. ‘My Poops’: BMG Settles Lawsuit Against Toymaker Over Black Eyed Peas Parody Song

First off today, Bill Donahue at Billboard reports that BMG has settled a lawsuit against toy company MGA over a parody song that the company used to promote a line of toys.

The line of toys was the “Poopsie Slime Surprise Toys”, which featured unicorns that released “unicorn poop” slime. For the line, the company produced a song entitled My Poops, which was a parody of the 2005 Black Eyes Peas song My Humps.

This prompted BMG to file the lawsuit, but MGA claimed that their song was a parody and a clear fair use. However, the two sides have agreed to settle the case before either a trial or a judgement could be reached.

2: Plex Sued for Copyright Infringement by Press Agency

Next up today, Ernesto Van der Sar at Torrentfreak writes that ZUMA Press has filed a lawsuit against Plex, alleging that the service unlawfully used a photo that it controls when operating its controversial service.

Plex is an online service that allows users to upload and store legally-acquired media to a centralized server for easy streaming to the user’s other devices. Recently, the service has come under fire for its alleged role in aiding piracy. According to many, Plex users routinely use the service not to stream personal media, but to provide unlawful access to others.

Plex has already blocked at least one hosting provider to mitigate these allegations. However, this case doesn’t deal with Plex’s core business and, instead, focuses on an image used as part of its user interface. ZUMA claims that they contacted Plex to remove the image, but they failed to comply in a timely fashion. The image in question is down now, but ZUMA is seeking undefined damages, attorney’s fees and an injunction barring future use of the image.

3: NLE Choppa Hit with Lawsuit for Alleged Copyright Infringement Over 2020’s ‘Who TF Up in My Trap’

Finally today, Daniel Tencer at Music Business Worldwide reports that rapper NLE Choppa has been hit with a lawsuit filed by Rodney-O, who alleges Choppa’s 2020 song Who TF Up In My Trap is an infringement of his 1987 song Everlasting Bass.

According to the lawsuit, Rodney-O alleges that Choppa copied used significant elements of his composition, calling it “either a verbatim copy or an encompassed and embodied in an audio sample.” He further claims that the defendants never sought permission nor received a license to use his work.

Rodney-O’s song, Everlasting Bass, is a well-known early rap hit, with over five million views on YouTube and more than 1.7 million streams on Spotify. Choppa has not responded to the lawsuit.

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