Rapper Ghostface Sued Over ‘Iron Man’ Samples

Hollywood composer Jack Urbont filed a lawsuit against Sony Music Entertainment and rapper Ghostface Killah for illegally sampling his “Iron Man Theme,” originally created for the 1960s television show, “The Marvel Super Heroes.”

Urbont is a veteran actor and producer on Broadway as well as the creator of theme music for “Guiding Light,” “One Life to Live,” “General Hospital,” as well as music for “That 70′s Show,” “Oprah,” “20/20” and “The View.”

Ghostface, who titled his first album “Iron Man,” is alleged to have copied verbatim” the Urbont-written “Iron Man Theme” on two tracks from his second album, “Supreme Clientele.”

The album was released back in 2000 (way before the recent Jon Favreau-directed movies) and it’s unclear why it took Urbont so long to sue.

The Hollywood Reporter notes…

Much  of the case is a typical copyright infringement claim, but Urbont throws in an unusual unfair competition allegation that caught our attention.

According to the complaint: “Defendant Ghostface is also known for the nickname, ‘Tony Starks,’ which is a take-off of the name ‘Tony Stark,’ Iron Man’s real name and true identity. In this way, Defendants’ use of Urbont’s ‘Iron Man Theme’ gives them a substantial commercial advantage by linking Ghostface to Iron Man without paying for it.”

Alleged unlawful activity aggravated by use of nickname — that’s a new one.