{"id":8555,"date":"2025-11-14T03:47:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T03:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/rolling-stones-paint-it-black-owner-sues-company-over-instagram-ad\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T03:47:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T03:47:00","slug":"rolling-stones-paint-it-black-owner-sues-company-over-instagram-ad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/rolling-stones-paint-it-black-owner-sues-company-over-instagram-ad\/","title":{"rendered":"Rolling Stones’ ‘Paint It Black’ Owner Sues Company Over Instagram Ad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\tABKCO, a music company that owns The Rolling Stones\u2018 early catalog, has brought a lawsuit against Behr Paint over an Instagram advertisement that allegedly used an unlicensed version of the band\u2019s \u201cPaint It, Black,\u201d which ABKCO calls \u201cone of the most valuable copyrights in the history of popular music.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe copyright infringement case, filed on Wednesday (Nov. 12) in federal court, centers on a 2022 Instagram ad for Behr that showed a person spray-painting furniture while \u201cPaint It, Black\u201d played in the background. ABKCO claims Behr didn\u2019t pay for the track. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\tWhile individual social media users can soundtrack their videos for free with songs covered by blanket licenses, companies are required to buy so-called sync licenses for music in commercial advertisements. ABKCO\u2019s lawsuit says it regularly sells sync licenses for \u201cPaint It, Black\u201d \u2014 and collects fees ranging from the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars for the song, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBehr\u2019s commercial use of the ABKCO recording has forced a business association upon ABKCO that has harmed its ability to license the ABKCO recording to Behr\u2019s competitors that would pay for the use of the ABKCO recording,\u201d writes lawyer Benjamin Akley<\/strong> of Pryor Cashman. \u201cClearly, the ABKCO recording is not only iconic, it has unique and particular value to a paint company seeking to promote its paint products.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to the lawsuit, ABKCO didn\u2019t learn about the 2022 ad until this past summer. ABKCO\u2019s attorneys allegedly notified Behr, leading the paint company to take down the video, though the company \u201cwas unwilling to engage in further dialogue concerning its unauthorized use,\u201d the lawsuit claims.<\/p>\n

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\n\tABKCO claims Behr is a \u201csophisticated, multi-billion-dollar corporation\u201d that knows the rules around sync licenses, yet it \u201cinexplicably\u201d chose not to follow those rules here. Now, the lawsuit is seeking financial penalties for Behr\u2019s alleged copyright infringement.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAs a result of the aforementioned acts of infringement, ABKCO has suffered significant damages,\u201d reads the complaint.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a statement shared with Billboard <\/em>on Thursday (Nov. 13), ABKCO\u2019s general counsel William Pittenger<\/strong> said, \u201cThe type of commercial use exploited by Behr undergoes some of the highest level of scrutiny in the world of music licensing and carries some of the most substantial licensing fees.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBecause of Behr\u2019s decision not to request and obtain the necessary license, this commercial brand association has been forced upon ABKCO and the artists without any consideration or compensation,\u201d added Pittenger. <\/p>\n

\n\tReps for Behr did not immediately return a request for comment on the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis story was updated on Nov. 13 at 7:34 p.m. ET to add a statement from ABKCO\u2019s general counsel.<\/em><\/p>\n


\"Billboard
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