Sometimes imitation isn’t flattering, at least from Black Eyed Peas‘ record label BMG Rights Management’s standpoint.
Last week, the company made headlines after news outlets reported that they were suing toy company MGA Entertainment Inc. for unlawfully using the pop group’s 2005 hit song “My Humps” for Poopsie Slime Surprise’s marketing campaign. BMG owns 75% of publishing rights to “My Humps,” and the single has sold millions of records since its debut.
According to Reuters, in the lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York, on Jan. 19, BMG claims that MGA ripped off Black Eyed Peas’ track and featured it in a promotional video and their toy line.
The clip, which included the song “My Poops,” showcased unicorn figures dancing and singing about poop. In addition to the advertisement, the toy does similar gestures alongside the titled track after an individual presses its heart-shaped belly button.
BMG’s attorney Seth L. Berman expressed in the legal document, obtained by Variety, that MGA’s “My Poops” is a replica of the Black Eyed Peas song.
“First, the title of the infringing work is My Poops, which is an obvious play on the name of the copyrighted composition, My Humps,” BMG’s lawyer, Berman, wrote in the lawsuit.
The legal documents also cite that MGA’s unicorn commercial resembled “My Humps” regarding the song’s lyrics, melodies, and notes. BMG stated that the lead singer in the clip sounded eerily similar to Black Eyed Peas’ vocalist Fergie.
When mentioning Fergie in the lawsuit, Berman says that MGA’s lead singer “uses a similar delivery and vocal inflections as used by Fergie on the original sound recording.”
What
makes matters even worse is that the company disclosed that MGA made tens of millions of dollars from the toy line sales because of the advertisement since its release in 2018. BMG is seeking $10 million in damages.This lawsuit comes years after MGA ignored a cease and desist letter from BMG when they were made aware of the company’s toy line and campaign.