As if Apple didn’t have enough troubles with an idiotic class action suit. Now Eminem represented by Eight Mile Style LLC and Martin Affiliated LLC, his music publisher and copyright manager, is suing Apple for millions. Why? He says that he never gave Apple the right to distribute his tunes on iTunes. The funny thing is he has actually benefited from this distribution; Apple pays him for every song downloaded (minus a fee I’m sure). Not only that but the suit includes exemplary damages to compensate for using his song, Lose Yourself, in an iTunes commercial that aired on MTV last year. Eminem stated that any endorsement of his for a product would cost a company in excess of $10 million. Wow.
What I’m wondering is… how long has he been planning this move? Has he been accepting all of his profits from the iTunes distribution and television exposure all the while planning to get even more out of them with a lawsuit? Or is he really a victim of intellectual property theft? What do you think?
Here are a few stories I found on the topic:
Mashable – Eminem Sues Apple for Music Rights
USA Today – Eminem sues Apple, MTV over iTunes ad
Billboard.com – Eminem Publisher Sues Apple Over Downloads
AppleInsider – Rapper Eminem sues Apple (again)