Kibler Fowler & Cave’s Entertainment and Intellectual Property Litigation practice group represented Spanish experimental musician Lucas Bolaño and freelance director and filmmaker Julio Drove Pamart in a copyright infringement dispute with world renowned pop star Lana Del Rey (legally named Elizabeth Grant) and Universal Music Group over Del Rey’s 2012 music video for “Summertime Sadness.” The 2012 video featured 17 seconds of material copied directly from plaintiffs’ copyrighted short film, “SKY,” as well as audio of a distinctive female voice saying “Remember, I will always love you, bye.” In July 2022, KF&C filed the copyright infringement lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The complaint alleged that Del Rey’s video, which had more than 350 million views on YouTube at the time of filing, had generated millions of dollars in royalties for Del Rey and UMG, while the plaintiffs received no compensation or credit for their work. In April 2023, the Court denied Del Rey’s motion for summary adjudication, and the parties reached a confidential settlement shortly thereafter. The settlement was reported in Bloomberg Law and Billboard.
The KF&C team includes Partner Matt Cave, Senior Associate Kevin Kroll, Senior Associate Kevin Cammiso, Associate Charles Cardinal, Senior Litigation Paralegal Samantha Ahlheim, Paralegal Praveeta Garcia and Paralegal Megan Schneider.
To read the Billboard article about the dispute and settlement, please click here. To read the Bloomberg Law article (subscription required), please click here.
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