The American who?
Thou shalt obey copyright laws: Composers claim Lakewood Church stole their tune
Rich Cupolo and John Emanuale of The American DollarPhoto via The American Dollar
Victoria and Joel Osteen
Lakewood Church
Looks like Lakewood Church in Houston might be having some trouble with the Eighth Commandment — you know, thou shalt not steal.
Lakewood as well as pastors Joel and Victoria Osteen have been slapped with a federal lawsuit alleging that they broke copyright laws by using an instrumental track without permission in the background of television advertisements for the church's Supernatural DVD.
The suit is by New York composers and musicians Richard Cupolo and John Emanuele, who record as The American Dollar, and asks for damages from Lakewood and the Osteens in the amount of $3 million. According to the lawsuit, Cupolo and Emanuele had licensed the track "Signaling Through the Flames" for use on the Lakewood website and at church services for one year starting in February 2010, but the license was never renewed and never included television ads, which continue to air.
Cupolo and Emanuele state that their music "consist[s] of meditative and inspirational instrumentals much like that of a dramatic motion picture soundtrack," and that Yesh, their record label, "is not affiliated with any religious groups or political organizations, and does not desire to have its music associated with Defendants. Instead, Yesh desires broad marketing of its music without compromising its artistic integrity or alienate its niche following."
In other words, they don't want to be branded as making Christian music, lest it hurt their reputation in godless, liberal Hollywood.
A spokesman for Lakewood Church said the demand for $3 million was "unreasonable." "The music in question is one minute of background music, which Lakewood Church had to license to use," church spokesman Don Illof told KPRC reporter Mary Benton.
What do you think of "Signaling Through the Flames"? Do you think it's worth $3 million?
