3 Count: Earth, Wind and Copyright

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1: Real Earth, Wind & Fire Sues Fake Earth, Wind & Fire for Trademark Infringement, Deceiving Fans

First off today, Daniel Kreps at Rolling Stone reports that members of the band Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F) have filed a lawsuit against the company behind Earth, Wind & Fire Legacy Reunion (EW&FLR), alleging both trademark and copyright infringement.

EW&F is the original band and features some of the band’s original members, including Verdine White and Philip Bailey. EW&FLR is a similar band that features unnamed “former members” of the original band. EW&F filed the lawsuit alleging that EW&FLR is violating their trademarks by using such a similar name also accuses them of copyright infringement of elements such as their Phoenix logo and photos of real EW&F members.

To be clear, cover bands can easily exist legally due to compulsory licenses for recording and performing covers of songs. However, EW&F claims that EW&FLR goes beyond that and is using other copyright-protected elements and that their naming scheme is causing confusion over the trademark.

2: Drama ‘Tere Bin’ Releases New BG Music After Copyright Issue Over OST

Next up today, MM News reports that, in Pakistan, the drama series Tere Bin has re-released one of its most recent episodes following a copyright strike against one of the songs on its soundtrack.

The issue was caused by a copyright strike by the Zee Music Company over allegations that one of the songs in the episode’s soundtrack was a copy of a Bollywood song Thukra K Mera Pyaar. As a result, several episodes of Tere Bin were blocked on YouTube and had to be reuploaded with new music.

Tere Bin is a new Pakistani drama. It originally premiered on Geo TV in December but has been uploading episodes to YouTube for additional exposure. However, there they have run into problems with copyright over elements of the soundtrack, in particular with Zee Music Company.

3: Aldi Accused of Ripping Off Aussie Snack Brand

Finally today, Wendy Crouch at Yahoo News Australia reports that Hampden Holdings has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Aldi over allegations that Aldi copied the packaging and designs of various organic puff snacks.

Though trademark infringement lawsuits against Aldi are fairly common due to Aldi’s history of making their own versions of popular products, this case is unique in that they are suing for copyright infringement, not trademark.

According to the lawsuit, Aldi recreated “a substantial part” of the original artwork when designing their packaging. Aldi, for their part, has denied any copyright infringement filed a cross-claim alleging that they have been “aggrieved” by the case.

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