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Topics: Eminem, Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, News, Entertainment
Gregory Robinson
Topics: Eminem, Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, News, Entertainment
Eminem has filed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms - the owners of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram.
The ‘Lose Yourself’ rapper, 52, filed the lawsuit on May 30 in Michigan through his production company Eight Mile Style, and he is seeking over $109 million in damages.
In the filing obtained by TheWrap, the musician - whose real name is Marshall Mathers - alleges that Meta violated the copyright of 243 of his songs through the 'unauthorized storage, reproduction and exploitation' of the tracks on their platform.
Eminem’s lawsuit against the tech giant claims that features such as Original Audio and Reels are tools that 'allow and encourage its users to steal' his music to be used in video content 'without proper attribution or license'.
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In the suit, Meta Platforms is accused of 'rampant infringement' of music by the Grammy winner, but also of 'knowing infringement', claiming that the Mark Zuckerberg company 'encourag[ed] billions of users of its online services to do so, all willfully, and without a license'.
The filing claims: "Thus, as Meta knows, it does not enjoy and is not eligible for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (“DMCA”) safe harbor provisions."
He is requesting the maximum statutory damages, totalling $150,000 for each of the songs across all three of Meta’s platforms, which comes to a grand total of $109,350,000.
Eight Mile Style has requested a jury trial and is seeking actual damages, lost profits, as well as a permanent injunction against the unlicensed usage of Eminem's music.
UNILAD has reached out to Meta and Eminem’s representatives for comment.
Eminem is no stranger to lawsuits as the rap star was threatened with a $10 million suit from his own mother, Debbie Nelson, after one line that featured in his song back in 1999.
Even before this song’s release, Eminem made it clear that he and his mother, who passed away last year, had a turbulent relationship since he was a child, even going as far to bring it up in press interviews.
In his 1999 hit 'My Name Is' - which featured on his The Slim Shady LP - Eminem alleged his mom 'smokes more dope than I do', a line that was met with backlash from his estranged mother.
In 2001, two years after filing the lawsuit, Debbie Nelson was awarded $25,000, although most of it went to legal fees, leaving her with just $1,600.