This is The Legal Beat, a weekly music law newsletter from Billboard Pro, bringing you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, landmark decisions and all the fun stuff in between.
This week: Pharrell Williams and Louis Vuitton face trademark lawsuit over 'Pocket Socks'. Diplo gets hit with lawsuit alleging he distributed 'revenge porn'. The Village People are moving forward with a lawsuit against Disney. A longtime attorney supporting Britney Spears is moving forward. and many more.
This week's top stories…
SOCKS WITH A LAWSUIT – Pharrell Williams and Louis Vuitton were hit trademark lawsuit to launch a line of high-end “Pocket Socks” a literal sock with a pocket that debuted at Paris Fashion Week last year and retails for a whopping $530. The case was filed by a California company called Pocket Socks Inc. which says it has been using the same name for more than a decade on a similar product.
AI FIRMS ARE BRINGING BACK – Suno and Udio, the two music AI startups sued by the major label last week for allegedly stealing copyrighted works on a massive scale to build their models, have responded with statements in their defense. Suno called its technology “transformational” and promised it would only produce “completely new results”. Udio said it was “completely uninterested in playing content in our training set”.
REVENGE PORN CLAIMS – Diplo was sued by an unnamed ex-romantic partner who accused him of trespassing “revenge porn” laws. sharing sexual videos and images of her without permission. The NYPD confirmed Advertising sign that a criminal investigation was also underway into the alleged incident.
DISCO v. DISNEY – A judge in California refused to fire a lawsuit filed by the Village People that claims Walt Disney Co. has blacked out the legendary disco band from performing at Disney World. Disney had invoked California's anti-SLAPP law and argued that it had a free-speech right to hold any band it chose, but a judge ruled that the company failed to show that the issue involved the kind of “public conversation” that protected by law.
WRITE TO ME BABY ONE MORE TIME – More than two years later Matthew Rosengart helped Britney Spears escape the long-standing legal conservatorship imposed by her father, the powerful judge is no longer represents the pop star. In a statement, Greenberg Traurig's attorney said she is turning to focus on other clients: “It was an honor to serve as Britney's judge and most importantly to work with her to achieve her goals.”
FAKE PERFECTS? – SiriusXM was hit with one class action which claims the company is raking in billions in revenue by pushing a shady “US Music Royalty” on consumer bills. The fee — reportedly 21.4% of the actual advertised price — represents a “deceptive pricing scheme whereby SiriusXM falsely advertises its music plans at lower prices than it actually charges,” the lawsuit alleges.
DIVORCE DRAMA – In the midst of an increasingly ugly divorce case, Billy Ray Cyrus testified a new answer claiming he had been physically, verbally and emotionally abused by his soon-to-be ex-wife, Firerose. The filing actually came in response to allegations that it was Cyrus who had subjected Firerose to “psychological abuse” during their brief marriage.
UK RIGHTS PROCEEDINGS – Filed a group of British musicians common treatment against UK collective PRS, accusing the organization of a “lack of transparency” and “absurd” terms on how it licenses and manages live performance rights. The case, filed at London's High Court, was brought by King Crimson's Robert Fripp, as well as rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain and several other artists.
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