Eminem’s Music Publisher Suing Facebook For Copyright Infringement

Eminem’s song publisher, Eight Mile Style, LLC, is not too happy with Facebook’s choice of music in their new ad. On Monday, the company filed a lawsuit against the social network company for copyright allegations.

In a post by the Hollywood Reporter, Mark Zuckerberg is accused of using a song similar to Eminem’s “Under The Influence” for the April launch of his new application titled Facebook Home. He introduced the alleged song in an advertisement called “Airplane.” The lawsuit claims that Portland, Ore.-based ad firm Wieden + Kennedy picked the song “in an effort to curry favor with Facebook by catering to Zuckerberg’s personal likes and interests."

According to the lawsuit, Zuckerberg used to call himself “Slim Shady” on one of his early websites he created during his childhood. This fact was reportedly used as added evidence for the copyright infringement.

Eight Mile Style, which is operated by producers Mark and Jeff Bass, continued to say in their lawsuit that Facebook would later alter the song. They contended that they own all rights to any derivatives of Em’s songs. "The alteration of the Airplane advertisement was an admission that Facebook knew it had infringed on the Eminem/D12 Composition," says the lawsuit.

Last month, the lawsuit says the lawyers representing W+K responded to the claims with their own complaint. Apparently, those lawyers didn’t hold anything back. They said Dr. Dre composed “Under The Influence,” which was a wrongful accusation, and attacked him for his practices as a producer. Then, they said, “Dr. Dre has actually stolen from Michael Jackson because 'Under The Influence' is supposedly a rip-off of one of Michael Jackson’s songs."

Facebook has not responded to THR’s request to comment. Em’s publisher is seeking maximum damages up to $150,000 per infringement.

Below, is the ad in question.

[via THR]