The wall-of-videos image used in the marketing materials for Apple TV is off-limits, according to Louis Psihoyos. Psihoyos had allegedly been negotiating with Apple for the rights to use his wall-of-videos photo, seen here.
Instead of paying the Boulder, Colorado-based photographer, Apple used this image instead.
Similar? Yes. Just different enough to avoid legal trouble? We’ll see. Apple seems savvy enough to steer clear of blatantly infringing upon someone else’s copyright, so look for the Cupertino giant to perhaps play the similar-but-not-the-same card.
The second lawsuit is a little bit odd, to say the least. Apparently a group called the Rubinoos is suing Avril Lavigne, her songwriter, and two music labels, alleging that Lavigne ripped off their song “I Wanna be Your Boyfriend” when she wrote “Girlfriend.” Apple gets thrown into the mix since Lavigne’s song is sold on iTunes. If you click on the song titles above, you can hear a sample of each song.
The only glaring similarity that I was able to discern was the use of the phrase “hey, hey, you, you” so if the Rubinoos win this one, they should also go after Billy Ocean for singing “Hey, hey, you, you, get into my car!” in the beginning of his 1989 smash hit “Get Outta My Dreams Get Into My Car“. I heard Billy’s got deeeeep pockets.
Apple sued for duping Apple TV image, hosting iTunes track [AppleInsider]