SECTION: COURTHOUSE STEPS; Vol. 17; No. 6; Pg. 7
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CASE CAPTION: Aimee Mann v. UMG Recordings Inc. and Universal
Music & Video Distribution Inc.; L.A. Superior Court #BC257680.
CAUSES OF ACTION: Breach of contract, misappropriation of name and likeness,
common law unfair competition, violation of federal Lanham Act, violation
of Calif. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200.
COMPLAINT ALLEGATIONS: Plaintiff entered into a recording agreement with
The Imago Recording Co. in 1992. Imago assigned its rights to Geffen Records
in 1995. Plaintiff and Geffen terminated the agreement in 1999. Geffen was
merged into Universal in 2000. Under the agreement, the record company was
not allowed to couple master recordings from one record with masters from
another record without the plaintiff's consent, nor repackage records without
the plaintiff's consent or use the plaintiff's photos, likenesses or biographical
material. Universal was also not to exploit masters that were not intended
for commercial exploitation. In September 2000, more than a year after the
termination of the recording agreement, Universal released a record called
"Aimee Mann Ultimate Collection" that coupled
songs from different records, songs never intended for commercial exploitation,
songs from other record companies and songs from a band in which Mann was
not a solo artist. RELIEF SOUGHT: At least $ 2 million.
PLAINTIFF'S COUNSEL: Henry Gradstein and Bruce E. Van Dalsem of Los Angeles'
Gradstein, Luskin & Van Dalsem (310-571-1700).
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