It’s a cutthroat, dog eat dog world, and it’s true; when you get famous, loyalties get extinguished. What’s been punned as a “Bad Romance” in the news lately is a law suit Lady Gaga encountered with her ex producer & romantic interest, Rob Fusari. Rolling Stone reports that he is suing her for $30 million, or a twenty percent cut of her profits from a contract she signed in 2006 which she argues was an illegal contract.
Fusari who co-wrote songs such as “Papparazi” and “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich” is claiming that he even accidentally came up with her name “Lady Gaga” and help craft her much of her image. Lady Gaga’s rep has left no comment on the lawsuit but I don’t think this is something that will just disintegrate or escape the headlines. The whole situation has left me questioning what can be considered intellectual property, and what type of defense there might be to the accusations if they don’t settle into an agreement.
As we obviously know, songs are copyrightable, and Fusari was given credit to the songs that he co-wrote. Although this is not an issue in the lawsuit, it does establish and legitimize her professional relationship with Fusari, proving he is not some scorned lover. So let’s tackle the name first. If he did come up with the name, does he have it registered? My guess is probably not, so any other documents or an admitting statement from the defense, proving his invented it would be helpful to his defense. But my guess is that he just gave her the name without getting into any sort of contract. With that alone, I don’t think there is much of a lawsuit.
Now to say that he help craft her image and came up with the name, it’s almost as if he is suggesting he branded her, and came up with her trademark. Yet as unfortunate as it may be for him getting shafted now that she’s famous, if he doesn’t have any valid documents to prove this, then he doesn’t have much of a case. Therefore, it is all going to come down to this allegedly “illegal contract.”
Until E! News gets a look at this document, I don’t think we will be able to determine if it is legitimate and binding. So the moral of the story goes: don’t give up your ideas so easily, especially the good ones, and be weary of everything you sign off on. I think this case gets at the heart of copyright law because even if something is IP, it comes down to our written contracts that establish ownership.
My immediate reaction to this news story and post lies in the old saying “don’t mix work with pleasure”. While its been clarified that Fusari has received credit for co-writing a few of Lady Gaga’s songs, it is still not clear if he deserves monetary credit for this undertaking. My thoughts? The first and foremost responsibility of Fusari and his lawyer should be to track down this alleged contract and determine its validity. If anywhere within that contract, or written document, it is stated that Fusari is to receive a portion of Lady Gaga’s profits for the success of those songs he has co-written, then Fusari is definitely entitled to some monetary gain. The amount of profit is also questionable. His initial request, stated above as $30 million seems a bit much in my opinion. However, considering the overwhelming popularity of the star that is Lady Gaga, this may be feasible. I’m looking forward to seeing how this case will turn out, as I’m sure many of her fans are too.
I guess it all comes down to the validity of that contract– coming up with a name and image isn’t a tangible form of expression, and the only way he could prove he had part in this is with that contract. Also, I don’t think he’d be able to own the trademark to her name, so this might be a lost cause for Fusari…
I am a huge Gaga fan and when I heard about this I was disappointed. I personally believe that Gaga is all about the art and would want to surround herself with artists who have the same passion and drive that she does. I am very interested in reading this document when it becomes available. I also love that E! News is the source of inspiration for this post. That’s a whole other can of worms to dig into
I also think that the name Lady Gaga and the image of hers is not something Fusari created fully, but might have just hinted (or suggested) in the beginning. Developing it fully, and performing under the name is something that Lady Gaga did herself, and many other people, who helped her.
Let’s say for example, I had a vision about my wedding. I wanted a certain color and had a location in my mind, and discussed them with a friend of mine while having coffee. What if later, she likes my vision so much and goes for it? Would I be able to sue her for taking some of my visions for my future wedding? It wasn’t the whole design, anyways. I personally think that it is just disappointing that Lady Gaga ever even had a relationship with such a person like Fusari.
Although opinions differ, and I wouldn’t necessary consider Lady Gaga’s creative output as art, this case sounds more like a media spectacle than a huge IP issue at stake.
I am also not sure, what qualifies E-news to provide a legal judgement.
Fact is, that if there is no clear establishment of ownership, it will probably be very hard for Fusari to win this case.
Unfortunately, it is no surprise, that some people simply can’t manage to eat where they sh..ave.
I therefore suspect that this move is geared towards affecting Ms. Germanotta’s public image.
I also think that the name Lady Gaga and the image of hers is not something Fusari created fully, but might have just hinted (or suggested) in the beginning. Developing it fully, and performing under the name is something that Lady Gaga did herself, and many other people, who helped her.
Let’s say for example, I had a vision about my wedding. I wanted a certain color and had a location in my mind, and discussed them with a friend of mine while having coffee. What if later, she likes my vision so much and goes for it? Would I be able to sue her for taking some of my visions for my future wedding? It wasn’t the whole design, anyways. I personally think that it is just disappointing that Lady Gaga ever even had a relationship with such a person like Fusari.