This article first appeared in Entertainment Law Matters, a Frankfurt Kurnit legal blog.
Stop Stealing my Moves, Belgian Choreographer Tells Beyoncé. Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker recently claimed that Beyoncé's new music video Countdown "plagiar[ized]" two of her pieces from 1983 and 1990. A side-by-side comparison shows that the pop diva's video shares dance moves, costumes, set design and some specific shots from the contemporary dancer's works and a film of the dance made by Thierry De Mey. In response to the Belgian choreographer's claim, Beyoncé stated that "Clearly, the [De Keersmaeker ballet] was one of many references for my video." The singer claims that the video was also a valentine to Audrey Hepburn's performance in Funny Face, and that she drew inspiration from Brigitte Bardot, Andy Warhol, Twiggy and Diana Ross.
Actor Claims Hangover 2 Based On His Life. Actor Michael Alan Rubin recently commenced a federal lawsuit in California against the creators of Hangover 2, as well as his presumably estranged wife, Tamayo Otsuki, claiming that they conspired to pilfer the story from Rubin's life experiences and a script treatment he drafted. The suit claims that Rubin wrote a film treatment entitled Mickey and Kirin based on his real-life experiences, especially his travels from the U.S. to Asia to marry his Asian girlfriend. Rubin seeks damages for copyright infringement and violation of his right of publicity, claiming Hangover 2 infringed Mickey and Kirin by copying its plot and theme, as well as his private life. Rubin also claims that the film is defamatory, because the defendants falsely portrayed him as a drug-influenced person who ditched his girlfriend only to later propose marriage to a transsexual prostitute.
Actress Sues Amazon for Revealing Her Age on IMDb.com. An actress filed suit against Amazon.com and its subsidiary, IMDb.Com, the world's largest internet movie database, for including her age on her online profile. The actress, who uses a stage name professionally, brought the suit anonymously "[b]ased on fear of retaliation from Defendants that would result in even further damage and economic injury." She claims that, shortly after subscribing to IMDbPro, a paid premium account service, she noticed that her legal date of birth had been added to her public acting profile on the IMDb website. She claims that the defendants must have performed record searches using the credit card information she provided during the subscription process to figure out her date of birth. This, says the actress, was fraud, a breach of the subscriber agreement and privacy policy, and a violation of her statutory privacy and consumer protection rights. In an industry where "youth is king," the plaintiff claims that it is now "nearly impossible" to get work as she is not given the same opportunities despite her appearance or talent.
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