DETROIT – It’s all good now between Eminem’s publisher and Lafontaine Ford.
Earlier this year, Eight Mile Style filed a lawsuit claiming that a Lafontaine dealership branch used “Lose Yourself” in a social media video without permission.
Lafontaine responded by saying that the issue was the fault of a third-party marketing vendor, which they immediately fired.
On Thursday (April 24), Eight Mile Style announced that it had dropped its legal action.
Attorney Howard Hertz told Local 4, “The parties have resolved the matter, and the video containing the musical composition at issue in the action has been removed from all platforms on which it was posted.”
Eight Mile Style, which owns Eminem’s (real name Marshall Mathers) early catalog, sued the Metro Detroit Ford dealership on Jan. 28.
The suit was against La Fontaine Ford St. Clair, alleging that the dealership used the song in online advertisements for the special edition Detroit Lions F-150 pickup trucks.
The suit said the ads ran on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other social media sites from September to October 2024.
Eminem and the Lions are a staple in the Motor City. The Detroit native grew up in the city and frequently attends Ford Field for his hometown team’s games during the NFL season.
The ad allegedly had a caption that said, “You only get one shot to own a Special Edition Detroit Lions F-150.”
The suit said that Eight Mile Style asked a judge to find that the dealer violated their copyright and order it to cease and desist while entering a judgment for damages and profits related to the infringements of the publisher’s copyright.
A spokesperson for LaFontaine Automotive Group sent a statement stating that the company has terminated its contractual agreement with the third-party vendor.
At LaFontaine Automotive Group, we take intellectual property rights and copyright compliance very seriously.
We were recently made aware of a lawsuit filed by Eight Mile Style LLC regarding the unauthorized use of an Eminem song in a social media video associated with LaFontaine Ford St. Clair.
We want to be very clear: The unauthorized use of this song was the result of actions taken by a third-party vendor marketing, without the knowledge, authorization, or approval of LaFontaine Automotive Group.
Upon learning of this lawsuit, we immediately terminated our contractual agreement with this third-party vendor and are conducting a thorough review of our vendor processes to ensure this does not happen again.
We are working to resolve this matter expeditiously and in good faith.
LaFontaine spokesperson
