Does Apple’s New MacBook Commercial Rip Off Run The Jewels?
Apple includes a lot of music references in their new ad for Macbook Air titled “Stickers”: stickers for labels like Warp, Kompakt, DFA, and Stones Throw. But one briefly glimpsed sticker has rapper El-P really angry. According to El, the company has ripped off the Run The Jewels hands graphic that graces the duo’s album cover. He expressed outrage in since-deleted tweets that Chartattack transcribed, saying, “OH COOL APPLE FIGURED OUT A WAY TO NOT PAY RUN THE JEWELS FOR OUR LOGO” and “OH NO IM SURE ITS JUST A COINCIDENCE.” In addition, he has left undeleted his frustrated response to someone telling him to not care.
.@djimwiththedj @stonesthrow oh blow me, man.
— el-p (@therealelp) July 22, 2014
The image above is the one found in the commercial and below is the Run The Jewels album cover.
Billboard spoke with IP attorney Howell O’Rear who explained that RTJ likely don’t have a case, saying, “From a copyright perspective, the cover art for Run The Jewels and the image used in the Apple advertisement are not the same, nor are they substantially similar.” However it also doesn’t really seem like anyone is looking to sue or anything, El just gave the impression of someone venting. Decide for yourself, and watch the ad and discuss below.