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Eminem Sues Apple, MTV Over iTunes Ad
Tuesday, February 24, 2004; 1:21 PM
DETROIT -- Rap superstar Eminem, who claims he
could fetch more than $10 million for endorsing a product, is
suing Apple Computer Inc. on grounds it used one of his hit
songs in a TV advertisement without permission. Eight Mile Style, music publisher of the artist whose real
name is Marshall Mathers III, filed the copyright infringement
lawsuit last Friday in U.S. District Court in Detroit. It also
names Viacom Inc., its MTV subsidiary and TBWA/Chiat/Day
advertising agency as plaintiffs. Spokesmen for Apple and Viacom were not immediately
available for comment. The lawsuit claims that Apple, in a television ad for its
iTunes pay-per-download music store aired on MTV last year,
featured a young boy with an iPod portable music player singing
the lyrics to "Lose Yourself," the theme song for his hit movie
"8 Mile" released in 2003. The ad was also posted on Apple's Web site, the suit says. "At no time did Apple, Chiat/Day or MTV receive
authorization or permission to record, reproduce, perform,
transmit, copy, use or otherwise exploit the composition ("Lose
Yourself") for any purpose," it says. "Defendants have acted intentionally, recklessly, willfully
and in bad faith," it adds. The suit does not spell out any specific damage claims. But
it says Eminem, a Detroit native, is entitled to "exemplary
damages" for the alleged use of a song it touts as having
achieved "iconic stature" among hip-hop fans worldwide. Eminem
and his co-writers won an Academy Award for the song. "Eminem has never nationally endorsed any commercial
products and therefore he indicated, though his manager, that
even if he were interested in endorsing a product, any
endorsement deal would require a significant amount of money,
possibly in excess of $10 million," the 15-page lawsuit says.
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