Beyonce and her baseball bat “Hot Sauce” appeared in “Lemonade.” Photo courtesy of AV Club.
Summary: Entertainer Beyonce wants the copyright lawsuit against her to be thrown out.
Beyonce may have set the internet ablaze with her visual album, “Lemonade,” but one watcher was soured by the experience. In June, filmmaker Matthew Fulks sued her, saying she stole elements of his short film to make her album; and now Beyonce is fighting back with more than Hot Sauce.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Beyonce filed a motion to dismiss Fulks’ lawsuit. The two works share similar images such as a parking structure, red people with obscured eyes, graffiti, and side lit figures; but Beyonce said that Lemonade does not share any meaningful similarities with Fulks’ short film “Palinoia.”
“Lemonade” is Beyonce’s journey from being a scorned lover to a woman who has accepted her circumstance. “Palinoia” chronicles a “tumultuous relationship” between a white couple. In the lawsuit, Beyonce said that “Lemonade” is told through the point of view of African-American culture while “Palinoia” is about a white man.
Beyonce’s attorney Tom Ferber said that this lawsuit is an example of broadness and “provides a textbook example of what does not constitute a legally cognizable claim of infringement.” He used a hypothetical example of someone claiming “Animal House” and “Rudy” were similar because they both take place in college.
Fulks said that Beyonce had access to his film before her shooting. He said he was contacted about a potential job with MS MR, which is signed to Columbia Records, and he sent them his short film. He alleged that a few months after his video was sent in, “Lemonade” started to shoot.
Fulks is suing Beyonce, Parkwood Entertainment, and HBO, amongst others.
Do you think the two works are similar? Do you think “Lemonade” copied “Palinoia?” Let us know in the comments below.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter