Eminem music publishing firm to sue Facebook over track

Eminem's music publishing company Eight Mile Style is suing Facebook and an advertising agency over a track it says the social network copied without its permission.

The firm has filed a lawsuit alleging that a 30-second webcast contained part of a song that closely resembles Eminem track, Under the Influence.

Facebook's lawyers say the song sounds like a Michael Jackson track.

They claim that makes it exempt from copyright infringement.

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that the advert was featured in a webcast by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to announce Facebook Home, an interface for Android phones.

It claims that Facebook later changed the background and music before the advert was released on YouTube and on TV.

Lawyers representing Eight Mile Style said: "The alteration of the Airplane advertisement was an admission that Facebook knew it had infringed on the Eminem/D12 composition."

Eight Mile Style wants the maximum damages in the US of up to $150,000 (£100,000) per infringement for the resemblance of Eminem's song.

The lawsuit has been filed in Eminem's hometown of Detroit.

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