CATS v COKE; LIVE FROM BRUNEL

Copyright cats

Yesterday’s Times reports that an unsigned London band, Seven Seconds of Love, is gearing up to do battle with Coca Cola. The band (who have enlisted the help of Olswang) suspect that an Argentinean Coke advert infringes the band’s copyright since the animation style and the music used in the ad is very similar to that of the video. The video was made available by the band on MySpace and YouTube and their Argentinean fans reported the existence of the Coke ad too them.

The IPKat [who got a bit seasick while watching the video] says jump-cutting, drinks, silly dancing – he has a strange feeling of deja-vu… Merpel notes what a boon the internet is for copyright lawyers – even the most commercially unsuccessful of authors can now make a credible claim of copyright infringement.

For those with a strong constitution, you can view the video here


Florian Koempel @ Brunel

Florian Koempel (British Music Rights) will be speaking at Brunel University’s Uxbridge campus this Wednesday at 1pm (rescheduled from December). His subject (which is particularly pertinent in the light of the Gowers Review) is the private use exception to copyright.

All are welcome and there’s no charge – just drop Ilanah an email for further details.