Madonna Pays Up in Copyright Flap
Apparently, the idea behind Madonna’s “Hollywood” video was not such a virginal concept after all.
The Material One has settled a copyright lawsuit that claimed she ripped off the work of late French erotic photographer Guy Bourdin in her most recent video from her American Life album.
The Smoking Gun reports that Madonna has reached an agreement with Bourdin’s son, Samuel, over the content of her video. Details of the arrangement have not been revealed. But Madonna has not acknowledged any wrongdoing in the incident.
Samuel Bourdin had sued Madonna for blatantly scamming his dad’s pictures to create her video. When he filed the claim in September, he said that the video was an exact reproduction of at least 11 photographs that had been published in French Vogue from the mid ’50s to the late ’80s.
“It’s one thing to draw inspiration; it’s quite another to simply plagiarize the heart and soul of my father’s work,” Samuel Bourdin said in a statement at the time.
Included in his evidence in the case were a series of side-by-side comparisons of the original photographs and stills from the video–evidence that Bourdin claimed was indisputable.
For his part, Bourdin is apparently thrilled with the results of his endeavors. His lawyer, John Koegel, called the settlement “very, very successful,” though he failed to comment on the exact amount per the terms of the agreement.
Reps for Madonna could not be immediately reached for comment.
In all, it hasn’t been a fabulous week for the Material One. She had to cancel Tuesday’s performance for her Re-Invention Tour in Los Angeles due to a bad case of the stomach flu. The show is rescheduled for Wednesday.
She also recently canceled three shows on the tour that were scheduled to take place in Israel. The official reason is that she got nervous about putting on a show in such a volatile region of the world. But some reports claim she nixed the dates due to threats on her children from Palestinian terrorist groups.
Despite the lawsuit settlement and canceled shows, all is not financially lost for the singer. If her 2001 tour is any indication, she’ll likely bank a pretty penny for her efforts. That trek grossed $75 million and sold out 47 venues.
Julie Keller – E!Online