50 Cent, the rapper and president of G-Unit Records, has gotten a partial victory in a lawsuit brought against a DJ who ran hip-hop website wordstarhiphop.com featuring mixtapes, including ones that had songs by the plaintiff. The main controversy in the lawsuit had to do with the website's masthead that contained an image of 50 Cent. In a ruling on Monday, a federal judge granted the hip-hop star summary judgment on copyright and right of publicity claims. In doing so, the judge rejected affirmative defenses including fair use. According to the ruling, "Defendants provide no authority to support the fair use of a celebrity’s image or likeness. This is not surprising, as a celebrity’s image, standing alone, only evokes that celebrity’s persona. Jackson’s image does not, by itself, describe anything about Defendants’ website."
Hollywood Docket: 'Twilight' Trademarks; ESPN Lawsuit; 50 Cent Mixtape - Hollywood Reporter
Hollywood Docket: 'Twilight' Trademarks; ESPN Lawsuit; 50 Cent Mixtape - Hollywood Reporter