By now everyone probably knows the story of Sweet Brown’s rise to fame. If not, here’s a quick recap.
News anchor interviews Kimberly Wilkins, aka Sweet Brown from Oklahoma, after an apartment building burns down.
Kimberly Wilkins says “ain’t nobody got time for that” and some other things people found funny.
Someone puts the clip on YouTube and Sweet Brown goes viral.
“Ain’t nobody got time for that” and “Jesus, it’s a fire” become the phrases that pay for Sweet Brown.
Brown becomes a YouTube sensation. Commercials follow, so do possible acting gigs.
But about 10 minutes into her 15 minutes of fame, someone decides to use Brown’s voice and likeness without permission.
Sweet
Brown is suing Apple, a radio program called The Bob Rivers Show and a
handful of other parties for unauthorized use of her likeness to the
tune of $15 million, according to court documents.
According to Brown’s complaint, The Bob Rivers Show, which is sold as a podcast on iTunes, made a song called I Got Bronchitis. The Bob Rivers Show,
according to the complaint, produced the song with samples from Brown’s
interview with the local TV news station. The song sampled phrases
like, “Ain’t nobody got time for that,” “Ran for my life,” and “Oh, Lord
Jesus, it’s a fire.”
The suit, which was originally filed in June 2012, claims that not
only did the defendants sell the music for a profit, but that they also
claimed that Brown gave her consent. In the midst of the lawsuit,
apparently some drama took place between Brown and her attorneys,
because they have removed themselves from the case. Brown is now
representing herself, along with co-complainant Sparkell Adams.
According to Business Insider, the claim against Apple, at least, may
not hold up in court because The Digital Millennium Copyright Act
provides protection for companies if they promptly take action to remove
material whose copyright is disputed. Once Apple got wind of the
lawsuit, the song was removed.
GET YOUR MONEY BOOBOO!!
though i do not know who actually owns the copyright to that.