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  • “Sorry” is the most expensive song to play

    Singer Nicki Minaj is being sued for copyright infringement by Tracy Chapman over a song with a rather apt title: “Sorry”. Tracy Chapman, a singer-songwriter who is famous for her ‘80s hits Fast Car and Baby Can I Hold You, said Minaj sampled her song Baby Can I Hold You without permission.

  • All that glitters is not gold - Kylie Jenner sued over copycat makeup

    Kylie Jenner, a celebrity who is valued at almost a billion dollars, is being sued by a small cosmetics company for ripping off a range of their eye shadow and using its name. Sheree Cosmetics released its Born To Sparkle glitter eye shadow palette in October 2017 while Kylie Jenner’s glitter eye shadow product with the same name was released later in 2018.

  • Kanye lifts someone’s concept art for the iPlane idea

    ​Kanye West, a rapper and businessman seems to have lifted someone’s design, even if it was just a flash of an idea in a passing remark to President Donald Trump. He showed the president, a picture on his phone of what he called the iPlane 1, a hydrogen-powered plane that should replace Air Force One.

  • Musicians are being ripped off by cafes streaming music illegally

    According to a study by Nielson Music, commissioned by Soundtrack Your Brand, a background music company backed by music streaming service Spotify shows musicians are losing out on an estimated US$2.7 million every year because their music are listened to illegally.

  • Music documentary idea stolen

    TJ Barrack and his business partner Marc Joubert are suing Jeff and Michael Zimbalist for allegedly copying their concept for Remastered, a documentary series that will explore seminal events in the lives of artists such as Bob Marley, Johnny Cash, Jam Master Jay and Sam Cooke.

  • Photographer thunderstruck by photo rip-off

    Photographer Sean R. Heavey claims a 2010 photo he took of a supercell thunderstorm, which he called The Mothership, was used by Netflix in their hit series Stranger Things and a Netflix feature-length movie, How It Ends. Netflix denies this. But for photographers, seeing their work reproduced is unfortunately a very common occurrence.

  • A rude Jolt for a creator

    Mark Robinson was watching television when he got a rude jolt – his invention, Jolt My Car, had appeared on screen under a different name, marketed by a different company.

  • Can a national greeting be stolen?

    The government of Fiji says it is contesting the trademark of the word “bula”, which was registered by an American company operating a chain of bars in Florida called Bula Nation.
    “Bula” apparently means “life”, but is used as a greeting and good wishes, and is used only on the island of Fiji.
    Calling it a case of “heritage-hijacking”, Fiji said it is preparing legal action against the owner

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