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26 June 2017Copyright

Tupac Shakur film hit with copyright suit by writer

A magazine writer has taken on the creators of “All Eyez on Me”, a biopic about the late rapper Tupac Shakur, in a copyright lawsuit.

Writer Kevin Powell filed the claim at the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Friday, June 23.

According to the suit the biopic, which aired earlier in June, infringed copyright in a series of original articles written by Powell.

The articles, which were written for Vibe Magazine, were based on the “life and struggles” of Shakur.

Written between February 1994 and February 1996, “some of the content in these articles was factual, some portions of the article were changed or embellished by plaintiff”.

The articles centre around the childhood and roots of Shakur, his mother, and their struggle, as the basis for a piece “not just about a rapper but about the young black male identity crisis in America today”.

“Rather than contact plaintiff, defendants, while fully aware of plaintiff’s copyright in the original work, wilfully and improperly developed, produced, filmed and released the infringing work derived from plaintiffs’ original work,” said the claim.

Powell added that his work features a fictional character named Nigel, based on a real person named Jacques “Haitian Jack” Agnant.

The biopic also features a character named Nigel, based on Agnant, according to Powell.

He said that the film features details of Agnant and Shakur’s relationship that have not been published by anyone else but Powell.

“In fact, the name and character of ‘Nigel’ in the original work was specifically created by the plaintiff without the authority or encouragement of Tupac Shakur,” said the suit.

Powell is seeking injunctive relief, destruction of all copies of the infringing work, damages and profits, damages for broadcasting the work, attorneys’ fees, and a jury trial.

Keith White, principal of The Law Office of Keith White and lawyer for Powell, said: "Powell has consistently worked to cover and protect the Shakur narrative with integrity and dignity."

He added: "Powell's exclusive and intimate access to Shakur came as a result of the trust established over the years. The narrative that Powell developed from many intense and exclusive moments with Tupac should not have been used in any film without Powell's approval and consultation."

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Copyright
10 August 2017   The producers of “All Eyez on Me”, a biopic about the late rapper Tupac Shakur, have attempted to kick a copyright suit brought by a journalist out of court.