Eminem's music publisher is suing Facebook for allegedly ripping off one of the rapper's songs in the tech giant's inaugural ad for Facebook Home, the Android takeover app.
The lawsuit claims that ad agency Wieden + Kennedy replicated Eminem's "Under the Influence" in an effort to "curry favor with Facebook by catering to Zuckerberg’s personal likes and interests, and/or to invoke the same irreverent theme."
But Facebook has made it virtually impossible for the public to tell if the ad uses Eminem's tracks. Although CEO Mark Zuckerberg played the original spot — titled "Airplane" — with the allegedly ripped off music during his Facebook Home launch speech, the version that was uploaded on YouTube later uses a noticeably different soundtrack.
A representative for Facebook declined comment.
Eminem's lawyer noted, "The alteration of the Airplane advertisement was an admission that Facebook knew it had infringed on the Eminem/D12 Composition."
We pulled the original version of the commercial from the keynote to let readers decide for themselves if it sounds like Facebook stole Eminem's song.
Here's the original, disputed ad for Facebook Home:
And here is Eminem singing "Under the Influence." We had to post a live performance since Eminem's publisher copyrighted the song so that no recorded versions can play off of YouTube. Here's a recorded version with better sound quality.
And here's the Facebook Home ad that was released on YouTube with an altered soundtrack:
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