An independent filmmaker claims that scenes in a short film he made two years ago were replicated in a video trailer for Beyoncé’s new album.
CBS News has reported that Matthew Fulks filed a federal lawsuit against the pop singer, citing copyright infringement. The lawsuit alleges that she stole his ideas from his 2014 short film Palinoia to make a video trailer to promote her new album, Lemonade. The lawsuit also names Parkwood Entertainment (her management company), Sony Music Entertainment and Columbia Recording Corporation in the lawsuit. He is seeking unspecified damages.
In his lawsuit, Mr. Fulks points to nine instances in which 39 seconds of the 65-second Lemonade trailer is “visually similar” to his film. He also alleges that the team that worked on Beyoncé’s video trailer saw his film and the trailer copied the mood, setting, pace, and typefaces used in Palinoia.
Representatives for Beyoncé, her management company and Columbia did not comment on the lawsuit.
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