Lost in the Moment?

Super Bowl advertisements tend to be the most memorable ads of the year. 

Last year, a Chrysler commercial prominently featured Detroit native Eminem and the background music was one of his hit songs, “Lose Yourself.” 

Last month Eminem's publishing company, Eight Mile Style, filed a lawsuit in a German court for Audi’s use of the same song in a video similar to the Chrysler ad promoting the 2012 Audi A6 Avant.

Audi claims the video is not an advertisement and has not aired in the United States.  According to Audi, the video was shown at a press event in Germany.  The video has since been posted on YouTube and can be viewed here.

While the Audi video has not appeared on television or radio in the U.S., jurisdiction and infringement may be hard to establish for a copyright infringement action in the U.S.  This is likely why Eight Mile has filed suit in Germany. 

However, it poses an interesting question...if the YouTube video is available in the United States, could a copyright infringement action be brought in the United States? 

Would Audi had to have authorized the copy of the video to be allowed to be posted on YouTube in order for a U.S. lawsuit to be brought?  I do not believe a U.S. lawsuit will be filed but I will keep up to see what happens in the German action.