Rolan Feld, the only son of the band's frontman Marc Bolan, has filed a lawsuit against the studio for allegedly using the song 'Debora' in the summer action hit without permission.
- August 4, 2017
AceShowbiz -
The use of T. Rex's song "Debora" in Edgar Wright's "Baby Driver" has sparked legal issue. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rolan Feld, the only son of the band's frontman Marc Bolan, filed a lawsuit Thursday against Sony for allegedly using the song in the summer action hit without permission.
"Inexplicably, defendants failed to obtain - or even seek - the permission of the composition's US copyright holder Rolan Feld," read the complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court. "In the six weeks since Feld brought this infringement to defendant Sony's attention, defendants have done little more than point fingers at one another - and they have neither apologized nor offered to pay Feld a reasonable license fee."
The soundtrack to "Baby Driver", which has scored a 95|percent| approval rating from more than 250 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, is an integral part of the plot. Feld first learned that the Ansel Elgort-starring movie was using the song "Debora" when a Sony representative reached out to his lawyer to request a license.
"In other words, at least one division of Sony had no trouble determining Plaintiff was the rightful owner of the U.S. copyright in the composition," the complaint read. "Plaintiff promptly informed Defendants (through communications with Sony) that the use of the Composition in the Film was unauthorized."
Feld was a few days short of his second birthday when his rocker dad Bolan was killed in a car crash at the age of 29. Feld, now 41, won the rights to the works of T. Rex in 2014. He is now seeking punitive damages, alleging that Sony's use of "Debora" has damaged future licensing opportunities.
Sony is yet to respond to a request for comment.
