A judge has ruled for TMZ in a lawsuit filed against the gossip website by actor Jared Leto. Leto sued the site after it published a video of him cursing out Taylor Swift while listening to tracks from her hit album 1989.
In December 2015, Leto filed the lawsuit alleging that the video footage of him was illegally obtained, as the videographer who he had hired to film him as he reviewed Swift's album did not legally own the copyright to the footage. Leto further argued that TMZ was aware of this and proceeded to publish the video anyway, violating copyright law.
The video showed Leto listening to Swift's album at his home studio, and commenting on the production value of the record. While his initial reaction was positive, by the end of the listening session Leto unleashes a dose of expletives at the singer.
"I mean, f--- her," he states. "I don't give a f--- about her." Leto is the lead singer of alternative rock band 30 Seconds To Mars, and his music career with the group has been considerably successful in its genre. When the video footage of Leto cursing Swift leaked, he tweeted an apology to her and her fans. He then filed the lawsuit in what he claimed was a matter of principle.
The judge in the suit, however, has ruled against Leto in the case, offering a summary judgement in favor of TMZ. The reasoning, however, is essentially based on a technicality, in that since Leto and the videographer did not have a written agreement prior to the filming of the footage, the videographer is therefore considered to have had the right to transfer the copyright of the work to TMZ, to whom he sold it for $2000.
"The intention is to have the written instrument executed before the work is made to clearly identify copyright ownership. Allowing the written instrument to be executed after the work is created would defeat the purpose of the statute in requiring a written instrument altogether," the judge states in his decision. Leto is predictably not happy with the ruling, which he vows to appeal given that the decision is based on a precedent that has courts divided.
"We will continue to fight because it is the right thing to do. Using antiquated laws to find loopholes that hurt, shame and slander people in the name of 'news' isn't just a legal issue, it is a moral one," said Leto in a statement. "It was wrong of TMZ to purchase stolen goods. It was wrong of TMZ to exploit material that did not belong to them."
Leto, who will next star in a just-announced biopic of the late Andy Warhol, reiterated that he was and remains the sole owner of the copyright of the video footage, and that the videographer himself has testified as such.
