28 OCTOBER 2022 XXXI

Mitch Ojwang
mitch.oj11@gmail.com

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY &

ENTERTAINMENT LAW

CRYSTAL ASIGE V. CARDI B FOUND INNOCENT

SAUTI SOL Cardi B emerged victorious in a
infringement lawsuit involving her 2016 debut
copyright

Sauti Sol band members have been sued

mixtape.
by a former signee Crystal Asige over an
alleged breach of contract.
Kevin Michael Brophy sued the Bronx rapper
over the cover art for Gangsta Bitch Music Vol.
Ms. Asige wants the court to compel the
1. The racy image showed Cardi sitting in the
artists to disclose how much they have
back of limo with a man’s head buried between
received from hit songs Lenga,
her legs.
Extravaganza, Ukiwa Mbali, Intro and
Favourite Song from 2019.
Though the male model’s face was not show on
the cover, his back featured a tiger and serpent
At the same time, Asige is also urging the
tattoo that was added during the editing process.
court to order Sauti Sol to compensate
Lawyers for both parties said the distinct body
her. She is also seeking orders that they
art was found on the internet.
deliver all licensing information on the
songs she is aggrieved about.
Brophy claimed the image was a
misappropriation of his likeness, as the tattoos
She says she composed her own sound
looked nearly identical to his own ink. As a
recording titled ‘Lenga’ allegedly released
result, the man suffered anxiety and reputational
exclusively on KLM’s Facebook platform.
harm.
She claims that the deal between the
airline and Sol Generation was without
A federal jury ruled in Cardi’s favor, determining
her blessing. It was initially agreed that
the cover art did not amount to an illicit use of
she would keep full master recording
Brophy’s likeness.
rights for Lenga.
BULLARDS VS REDBULL NFTS ON TWITTER
A small gin maker that dates back to 1837 The social media platform Twitter has announced
has won a legal battle against energy that it will begin allowing users to buy, sell and
drinks manufacturer Red Bull. display NFTs directly through tweets. The NFT
feature is the first project under the Elon Musk
Norwich-based Bullards was told by administration.
lawyers acting for Red Bull there was a
"likelihood of confusion on behalf of the The new integration, dubbed “NFT Tweet Tiles,”
public" as both brand names "include the will allow users to display the artwork of an NFT
term bull". in a dedicated panel with a tweet. The new NFT
option will feature a button that allows users to
A hearing ruled Red Bull's opposition to the buy and sell digital collectibles.
trademark application failed. Russell
Evans, of Bullards, said he was "glad" they The new NFT feature is in the testing phase.
had taken a stance and did not "cave into Twitter will let users display their NFTs through
the Goliaths". several popular NFT marketplaces. A Twitter
representative confirmed that the new NFT
Red Bull had asked Bullards to delete a feature is blockchain-agnostic.
series of goods and services from its
trademark application and registration,
including energy drinks, events, and non-
APPLE PROTECTS ITS
alcoholic beverages. PATENTS
A patent complaint filed in Delaware federal court
last week by Apple Inc. accused medical
equipment company Masimo Corporation and its
recently acquired consumer division Sound
United of copying three design patents
undergirding the Apple Watch product line.

Though it was well behind in research and

development the complaint says, Masimo
launched a competing smart watch by cutting
corners: carefully copying the technology and
bringing well-timed lawsuits to try to kick Apple
out of the market.
COPYRIGHTS IN LGBTQ-THEMED FILM
FOLKLORE BANNED
Actor and musician Johnny Depp and his On Oct. 17, several government bodies,
friend Jeff Beck have filed a lawsuit against including Singapore’s Infocomm Media
a professor and folklorist who accused them Development Authority (IMDA), released a
of plagiarizing one of the songs on their joint statement announcing that director Ken
latest album, “18.” The defendant, Bruce Kwek’s “#LookAtMe” will not be screened in
Jackson, claimed that one of the duo’s (Depp theaters across Singapore.
and Beck) new songs lifts lyrics directly from
Slim Wilson, a Missouri prisoner featured They explained that the film was banned for
heavily in Jackson’s 1974 book “Get Your its “potential to cause enmity and social
Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me.” division in Singapore’s multi-racial and multi-
religious society.”
Jackson, a distinguished Professor at the
University of Buffalo, claimed that Depp and In response, Kwen and the film’s producers'
Beck only contributed two original lines to response shared that they intended on
the song, with the rest coming directly from appealing the government bodies’ decision.
his documentation of Slim performing the
song. Jackson sent Depp and Beck two However, local media outlets recently
demand letters claiming that through his reported that they have changed their minds.
book, he owned the copyright in the On Thursday, the “#LookAtMe” team issued a
transcription and recording of ‘Hobo Ben.'” statement to Mothership explaining that
"after a more comprehensive assessment of
But in their lawsuit, Depp and Beck claim the ministries’ statement and the IMDA’s
that Jackson holds no rights over the toast appeals process,” they will no longer go
itself. “Contrary to Defendant’s allegations, through with their initial plans.
Defendant owns no copyrights in the words
to the ‘Hobo Ben’ toast, and his own copying "The chances of a successful appeal [for a
of the toast into his book and subsequent film with ‘LGBTQ or religious content’] are
recordings did not create any copyrights in exceedingly slim,” they added.
those words. In fact, as part of a ‘folklore’ or
‘oral tradition’ apparently passed down for
generations as Defendant himself explained
in his GYA Book."
DATA PROTECTION

AUSTRALIA'S DATA PRIVACY

Australia has confirmed an incoming legislative change
will significantly strengthen its online privacy laws
following a spate of data breaches in recent weeks --
such as the Optus telco breach.

The changes will be made via an amendment to the

country's privacy laws, following a long process of
consultation on reforms."We need better laws to
regulate how companies manage the huge amount of
data they collect, and bigger penalties to incentivize
better behaviour." said its attorney-general, Mark
Dreyfus

META FINED FOR ANTITRUST

BREACH
Meta hit with antitrust breach order in Turkey for
combining user data across FB, WhatsApp, and
Instagram.

The $18.6 million fine, however, pales in comparison to

a number of recent stings hitting it from European
regulators. Such as the $267 million fine for WhatsApp
in the European Union just over a year ago — for
transparency breaches of the bloc’s data protection
framework.

IMMATURE BIOMETRICS
The UK’s data protection watchdog has warned
against businesses using “immature” technology
to measure biometrics, saying the risks currently
outweigh the benefits. Emotional analysis
technologies process data such as gaze
tracking, facial movements, heartbeats, facial
expressions and skin moisture.

“We are concerned that incorrect analysis of

data could result in assumptions and judgements
about a person that are inaccurate and lead to
discrimination.” said deputy commissioner of the
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO),
Stephen Bonner.