Rihanna sued by artist who claims her bondage-themed video for S&M was based on his fashion photographs.
Rihanna's video to her number one single 'S&M', which has been watched by nearly 49 million people on YouTube, could be banned after a German photographer claims she copied his work.
New-York
based Philipp Paulus, 22, from Germany, claims some scenes in the pop
star's bondage-themed video were based on his fashion photography series
"Paperworld".
Paulus' work included a woman in a red dress held against a wall in plastic wrapping with black tape X-marks.
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Rihanna's video, produced by her record label Universal Music, features the U.S popstar in a similar setup with plastic wrapping and crosses.
'It
is shocking that a company like Universal music, which generates its
turnover with intellectual property, copies the intellectual property
completely unauthorised and without respect,' said Paulus, who is
fighting his case in a court in Stuttgart, Germany.
Paulus' lawyer, copyright specialist Philip Jakober, said Universal Music Group
had admitted the similarities some time ago but had not made a
reasonable offer to settle the matter, prompting the legal case.
New-York based Philipp Paulus, 22, from Germany,
claims a scene in the pop star's bondage-themed video was based on his
fashion photography series "Paperworld"
One of the scenes from Rihanna's 'S&M' music video which a German artist says is copied from his work
A scene from Rihanna's video, produced by her
record label Universal Music, features the U.S popstar in a red dress by
a wall in plastic wrapping with black tape X-marks. The scene appears
to be similar to photographs taken by Paulus
He said: 'Certain video scenes of the
music video 'S&M' are essentially the basics of the copyright
protected achievements and creations of my client.'
In
2011 Paulus began legal action over the issue, shortly after another
photographer accused Universal and Rihanna of stealing his ideas for the
S&M video.
Well-kown
American photographer David LaChapelle argued in documents filed in
Manhattan Federal Court in New York City that certain scenes in the
'S&M' video were 'directly derived from and substantially similar'
to eight of his photographs.
If
Paulus wins his case, Universal Music could face, among other things, a
ban on broadcasting the video not only on YouTube but also on
television worldwide.
'The
ludicrous thing about this situation is that Universal Music has for
some time been bringing about a wave of lawsuits against end users for
copyright infringements, yet as far as our case is concerned the usage
from the photo series 'Paperworld' by Philipp Paulus in the music video
'S&M' is a serious and worldwide infringement of copyright, which is
the responsibility of Universal Music,' added lawyer Jakober.
Paulus'
legal costs for the trial in Stuttgart are being funded by Foris Legal
Financing from Bonn, which enables him to fight the music giant.
Paulus' Lawyer, copyright specialist Philip
Jakober, said Universal Music Group had admitted the similarities some
time ago but had not made a reasonable offer to settle the matter
Paulus said: 'Of course
as a young artist I am not prepared to use my whole start-up capital to
fight against the cold shoulder of a big player like Universal Music. I
am really happy that after the out-of-court settlement fell through
almost two years ago I am now being given the opportunity to work with
Foris and my lawyers to fight for my rights.'
Lawyer
Jakober added: 'Universal music exploited the economic inferiority of
my client in the out of court settlement talks. After Foris joined the
case as the financer, those strategies will no longer work.'
In an earlier interview Paulus said he was amazed that Rihanna did not express more originality in her work.
'Why
a worldwide celebrity is not able to afford a creative director, who
creates individual concepts and staging, is incomprehensible to me,' he
said.
Paulus added:
'While I really respect Rihanna's talents as a musician, nevertheless it
is important to respect the creations of others, even young talent -
and not to copy their work without legitimacy for earning money with it
in order to make money.'
The case continues.
