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Legal
Black Keys sue ad agency
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 10 June 2011
The Black Keys, or, rather, their record label, Warner subsidiary Nonesuch, have launched legal action against a New York advertising agency that goes by the rather wordy name of Della Femina Rothschild Jeary & Partners after the company used the band’s song, ‘Tighten Up’, in adverts for the Valley National Bank earlier this year without permission.
According to Billboard, the label’s lawsuit states: “For at least a two week period in February 2011, coinciding with the period leading up to and the aftermath of the 2011 Grammy Awards, the agency and VNB knowingly created and ran a television commercial incorporating significant portions of [‘Tighten Up’] without having sought or obtained a license from Nonesuch to do so”.
The lawsuit adds that Nonesuch sent cease-and-desist letters to both the agency and the bank when the ad first aired, but that these were ignored. No specific amount of damages has been requested, but the lawsuit also asks that judges judge how much the band and label might be due.