Business News Legal

Judge tosses filmmaker’s infringement suit against Beyonce’s Lemonade

By Chris Cooke | Published on Friday 2 September 2016

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by filmmaker Matthew Fulks against Beyonce, in which the former accused the latter of ripping off his 2014 short film ‘Palinoia’ for the movie elements of her recent album ‘Lemonade’.

As previously reported, Fulks said that various elements of the ‘Lemonade’ film were taken from his work, including “graffiti and persons with heads down”, “red persons with eyes obscured”, “parking garage”, “feet on the street” and “side-lit ominous figures”. In fact, said the director, Beyonce nicked the “total concept and feel” of his short for her mini-film.

Legal reps for the singer quickly responded, saying that while the two films may share a common theme, and there may or may not be some stylistic similarities, none of that was sufficient to constitute copyright infringement.

Beyonce’s court papers added that: “A straightforward comparison of the parties’ works provides a textbook example of what does not constitute a legally cognisable claim of infringement. [Fulks legal claim] describes elements and features of the works in abstractions so broad as to be meaningless – because, as even a cursory review of the parties’ works makes clear, at the level of copyrightable expression the works are markedly dissimilar”.

And, it seems, the judge hearing the case agrees. Team Beyonce wanted a summary judgement in their favour, and now they’ve got it. Although yet to provide a detailed outline of his decision, judge Jed Rakoff said this week, according to The Hollywood Reporter: “Upon full consideration of the parties’ briefs and oral arguments, the court grants defendants’ motion”.

So let’s say no more about it. Though, actually, Rakoff has more to say about it, in a full judgement yet to be released. And Fulks will presumably have more to say about it too. But let’s all agree that we’ve got no more to say about it, shall we?