The plaintiff claims a member of the pop star’s team has
acknowledged seeing his work.
Beyonce Knowles-Carter unleashed ‘Lemonade’ on a HBO
special feature without much advance hype, a week before
her album release
posting the trailer on YouTube.
According to a new lawsuit filed in New York, this trailer was
copied without permission from a short film titled ‘Palinoia’.
In the suit, he says his project also depicted a "tumultuous
relationship."
The plaintiff in this case is Matthew Fulks , who identifies
himself as both an independent filmmaker as well as the
creative director at Kentucky news organization WDRB. Fulks
says he conceptualizes, writes and directs TV advertisements
for the Louisville, Ky.-based news station.
In the complaint, Fulks theorizes how defendants including
Sony Music, Columbia Recording and Beyonce's Parkwood
Entertainment got access to Palinoia .
Fulks says he was contacted about the opportunity to direct a
video by the Columbia-signed musical group MS MR, and as a
result, links to Palinoia were sent to others including Bryan
Younce, who has created videos for Beyonce and has been
credited on her self-titled 2013 album.
The lawsuit claims that in July 2015, Younce requested Fulks'
email and that later he sent the plaintiff a note acknowledging
that he had received his "info" with an invitation to submit a
treatment for consideration by Columbia.
Five months later, the filming of Lemonade began.
Fulks is sour at what he sees.
"The number of aesthetic decisions included in Plaintiff’s
‘Palinoia’ work that are parroted in Defendant’s’ ‘Lemonade’
trailer demonstrates that it is substantially similar to the
‘Palinoia’ work ," states the complainant. "The misappropriated
content includes both the particular elements that the Plaintiff
chose to comprise the ‘Palinoia’ work and the coordination and
arrangement of those particular elements."
Specifically, the plaintiff cites nine visual similarities
comprising 39 seconds of a 60-second trailer. The visual
similarities cited are "graffiti and persons with heads down,"
"red persons with eyes obscured," "parking garage," "stairwell,"
"black and white eyes," "title card screens," "the grass scene,"
"feet on the street," "side-lit ominous figures," all adding up to
a supposed total concept and feel substantially similar to the
short film.
The lawsuit, filed by attorney Amy Cahill at Cahill IP along with
Robert Clarida, also claims similarities in auditory time and
includes an unusual graphical element to demonstrate this.
Fulks is demanding all profits attributed to exploitation of his
work, including from sales of the “ Lemonade” album. A
representative for Parkwood Entertainment hasn't yet
responded to a request for comment. Watch the Lemonade
» trailer and the Palinoia » film for full comparison and
share your thoughts with us.
acknowledged seeing his work.
Beyonce Knowles-Carter unleashed ‘Lemonade’ on a HBO
special feature without much advance hype, a week before
her album release
posting the trailer on YouTube.
According to a new lawsuit filed in New York, this trailer was
copied without permission from a short film titled ‘Palinoia’.
In the suit, he says his project also depicted a "tumultuous
relationship."
The plaintiff in this case is Matthew Fulks , who identifies
himself as both an independent filmmaker as well as the
creative director at Kentucky news organization WDRB. Fulks
says he conceptualizes, writes and directs TV advertisements
for the Louisville, Ky.-based news station.
In the complaint, Fulks theorizes how defendants including
Sony Music, Columbia Recording and Beyonce's Parkwood
Entertainment got access to Palinoia .
Fulks says he was contacted about the opportunity to direct a
video by the Columbia-signed musical group MS MR, and as a
result, links to Palinoia were sent to others including Bryan
Younce, who has created videos for Beyonce and has been
credited on her self-titled 2013 album.
The lawsuit claims that in July 2015, Younce requested Fulks'
email and that later he sent the plaintiff a note acknowledging
that he had received his "info" with an invitation to submit a
treatment for consideration by Columbia.
Five months later, the filming of Lemonade began.
Fulks is sour at what he sees.
"The number of aesthetic decisions included in Plaintiff’s
‘Palinoia’ work that are parroted in Defendant’s’ ‘Lemonade’
trailer demonstrates that it is substantially similar to the
‘Palinoia’ work ," states the complainant. "The misappropriated
content includes both the particular elements that the Plaintiff
chose to comprise the ‘Palinoia’ work and the coordination and
arrangement of those particular elements."
Specifically, the plaintiff cites nine visual similarities
comprising 39 seconds of a 60-second trailer. The visual
similarities cited are "graffiti and persons with heads down,"
"red persons with eyes obscured," "parking garage," "stairwell,"
"black and white eyes," "title card screens," "the grass scene,"
"feet on the street," "side-lit ominous figures," all adding up to
a supposed total concept and feel substantially similar to the
short film.
The lawsuit, filed by attorney Amy Cahill at Cahill IP along with
Robert Clarida, also claims similarities in auditory time and
includes an unusual graphical element to demonstrate this.
Fulks is demanding all profits attributed to exploitation of his
work, including from sales of the “ Lemonade” album. A
representative for Parkwood Entertainment hasn't yet
responded to a request for comment. Watch the Lemonade
» trailer and the Palinoia » film for full comparison and
share your thoughts with us.
Pop singer gets sued for 'Lemonade' trailer
Reviewed by Victor Kolawole
on
June 10, 2016
Rating:
Reviewed by Victor Kolawole
on
June 10, 2016
Rating:
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