M-1 and Affliction Face the Music
Although I've not yet commented on the case, most MMALB readers are probably aware that M-1 and Fedor Emelianenko sued Affliction for its cancelation of the Affliction: Trilogy event that had been scheduled for August 1, 2009. (For a good discussion of the case visit MMAPayout.com.)
What most of you don't know, however, is that M-1 and Affliction are on the same side of another pending federal case. A company called Freeplay Music LLC has sued both companies in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for alleged misuse of a song called Legion (which can be heard by doing a keyword search for "Legion" on Freeplay's website). The copyrighted song was allegedly used in at least 412 television commercials for the event.
MMA promotional companies frequently face a serious issue of others' infringing on their intellectual property. (See Square Ring v. UStream or, generally, Joe Hand Promotions.) It is interesting to see the shoe on the other foot.
As always, the filing of a complaint doesn't necessarily mean anyone has done anything wrong. Neither M-1 nor Affliction has yet filed their answer to the complaint so we have not yet heard their side of the story.
