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jadillac1181
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http://eurweb.com/story/eur27082.cfm
"*A Detroit man is claiming that Jamie Foxx’s song “Heaven,” which the Oscar winner debuted on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in December, is nothing but a reworked version of his song "One of God's Angels Is AWOL," which he wrote and copyrighted in 2003.
Michael A. Johnson is suing Foxx in Eastern Michigan's U.S. District Court for $75 million – that’s $15 million apiece from defendants Foxx, J Records, Sony Records, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Face Production to cover damages, royalties that he has missed out on and the "mass exposure" he would have received if that song had been attributed to him.
Johnson first came across the tune when the rest of the world did – while watching “Oprah” – and soon recognized the lyrics from his own tune. Johnson also says he did a mass mailing of his song lyrics to record companies, including Sony, whose J Records label released Foxx's album, “Unpredictable.”
"The songs are so similar that, if my song was released today, people would think I copied Jamie's song," Johnson wrote in his complaint. "My songs were sent out in hopes of a contract, not to be changed and disguised as someone else's creation."
Explaining “Heaven” to Oprah’s audience last year, Foxx said: "The song is basically saying that there was an angel up in heaven who was this little girl angel and it was God's favorite angel. She would always look at the plight of this couple who weren't able to have a kid, so, one day when God was having a role call, she didn't answer. She had snuck off and blessed them with a child."
Johnson countered in his complaint: "Even if Mr. Foxx's song was inspired by his daughter, they are still my lyrics. Maybe Mr. Foxx thought or assumed, because my songs were sent out hand-written, that I was not professional enough to have had my songs copyrighted and took advantage of that."
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Wow...good thing dude had his stuff copyrighted for real. He wont get 75, but he'll prolly get at least 10. I hope Sony/J Records has to front most of the bill for stealing someones work.
"*A Detroit man is claiming that Jamie Foxx’s song “Heaven,” which the Oscar winner debuted on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in December, is nothing but a reworked version of his song "One of God's Angels Is AWOL," which he wrote and copyrighted in 2003.
Michael A. Johnson is suing Foxx in Eastern Michigan's U.S. District Court for $75 million – that’s $15 million apiece from defendants Foxx, J Records, Sony Records, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Face Production to cover damages, royalties that he has missed out on and the "mass exposure" he would have received if that song had been attributed to him.
Johnson first came across the tune when the rest of the world did – while watching “Oprah” – and soon recognized the lyrics from his own tune. Johnson also says he did a mass mailing of his song lyrics to record companies, including Sony, whose J Records label released Foxx's album, “Unpredictable.”
"The songs are so similar that, if my song was released today, people would think I copied Jamie's song," Johnson wrote in his complaint. "My songs were sent out in hopes of a contract, not to be changed and disguised as someone else's creation."
Explaining “Heaven” to Oprah’s audience last year, Foxx said: "The song is basically saying that there was an angel up in heaven who was this little girl angel and it was God's favorite angel. She would always look at the plight of this couple who weren't able to have a kid, so, one day when God was having a role call, she didn't answer. She had snuck off and blessed them with a child."
Johnson countered in his complaint: "Even if Mr. Foxx's song was inspired by his daughter, they are still my lyrics. Maybe Mr. Foxx thought or assumed, because my songs were sent out hand-written, that I was not professional enough to have had my songs copyrighted and took advantage of that."
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Wow...good thing dude had his stuff copyrighted for real. He wont get 75, but he'll prolly get at least 10. I hope Sony/J Records has to front most of the bill for stealing someones work.
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