Jared Leto files copyright lawsuit against TMZ over video about Taylor Swift

Recently, Actor/Musician Jared Leto, through his company Sisyphus Touring, Inc., filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against celebrity gossip/entertainment news company TMZ.[1] The Plaintiff alleges in the Complaint that TMZ used video footage of Jared Leto in his home music studio, in which Mr. Leto allegedly critiqued various Taylor Swift songs and otherwise uses profanity.[2] The Complaint alleges that the Plaintiff has filed an application to copyright the video footage and that TMZ obtained the footage without Plaintiff’s consent or authorization.[3] Plaintiff alleges the Defendants obtained the video footage from a former videographer hired by the Plaintiff.[4] Plaintiff and the former videographer allegedly informed Defendants that Defendants should not post the footage because the videographer did not own it.[5] Nonetheless, according to the Complaint, Defendants posted the video footage online anyways.[6]

The Plaintiff’s Complaint asserts a cause of action for copyright infringement.[7] The Plaintiff also alleges that the infringement was willful, which has the potential to subject the Defendants to enhanced and/or treble damages if the Plaintiff is successful.[8] Please contact our office if you have any questions regarding the information in this article.

Daniel Devine, Esq.
Santucci Priore, P.L.
Shareholder

[1] See, Sisyphus Touring, Inc. v. TMZ Productions, Inc., et. al., Case No. 2:15-cv-09512-RSWL-PJW (Dec. 9, 2015).
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.