Black Eyed Peas’ Label Settles With Pooping-Unicorn Toymaker
You were worried. It’s OK. We were all worried. You couldn’t eat. You couldn’t sleep. All you could do was fret over what was about to happen with the Black Eyed Peas’ label and their legal battle with the makers of the toy unicorns that poop out sparkly slime. How could you be expected to live your life without knowing how this would end? Finally, we can happily report that the lawsuit over the pooping unicorns’ “My Humps” parody has been resolved. At last, you can relax.
Last year, a TV commercial for Poopsie Slime Surprise, the line of toy unicorns who poop out sparkly slime, used an unauthorized parody of the Black Eyed Peas’ universally beloved 2005 hit “My Humps.” As in: “Whatchu gonna do with all that poop? All that poop?” After multiple cease-and-desist orders, BMG Rights Management, the label and publisher behind the Black Eyed Peas, sued MGA Entertainment, makers of Poopsie Slime Surprise, for copyright infringement, claiming that the jingle rips off “My Humps” — BMG owns 75% of that copyright — and that one of the unicorns resembles Black Eyed Peas member Fergie. If I was Fergie, I might feel some type of way about this.
Now Billboard reports that BMG and MGA have reached “a settlement in principle” to resolve their lawsuit. The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed. If the case had gone to trial, it could’ve had far-reaching implications on parody protection and fair use under First Amendment law. I’d like to speculate that the parties involved all realized that it would be terribly embarrassing to be involved in a precedent-setting legal case about “My Humps” and some unicorn dolls that poop sparkly slime.