Last month, Juan Marco filed a copyright infringement suit against Live Nation and the other promoters of the summer music festival, Lollapalooza. According to the complaint, Marco granted a limited license to the concert promoters to use Marco’s artwork for three years and only for use in the United States and Chile.  Marco alleges that the concert promoters featured artwork that was substantially similar or identical to his work in hats, shoes, marketing materials, advertisements, and installations to promote Lollapalooza beyond the scope of the license.  Specifically, Marco alleges that his artwork is being used beyond the term, outside of the United States and Chile, and is further being sublicensed to third parties without permission.  Marco is seeking injunctive relief and damages.

Takeaway: Advertisers seeking content licenses from third parties, including licenses for music, artwork, and movie clips, should develop plans to ensure that their advertising campaigns will not exceed the scope of such licenses. Advertisers should further inquire regarding the scope of these licenses when they are obtained on behalf of their ad agencies in order to ensure the licenses accurately reflect the needs of the marketing campaigns.