Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier.Photo: Annice Lyn/Getty
Two U.S. figure skaters, alongside NBC, have been named in a lawsuit that alleges they used a song during anOlympicroutine without the artists' permission.
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Joosep Martinson/International Skating Union via Getty
In the filing, the Marderosian brothers say Frazier and Knierim “chose to use the track,” which has been featured in various films, television series, video games and more, “for their 2022 Winter Olympic ‘Short Program’ without the authorization or permission of the Plaintiffs.”
“At all times herein, Defendants COMCAST, NBC and PEACOCK were and are a source of media distribution which constitutes control over the infringement which is the subject of this Complaint,” the suit said.
The Marderosians also said that the Defendants “[recognized] Plaintiffs' popularity, talent and goodwill” and used the song “in a brazen and improper effort to capitalize on Plaintiffs' hard work and copyright ownership” of it.
Matthew Stockman/International Skating Union via Getty
The pair was expected to compete against Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc, Jessica Calalang and Brian Johnson, and Audrey Lu and Misha Mitrofanov.
In addition to winning last year’s national competition, Knierim and Frazier — who become partners in 2020 — placed seventh at the 2021 World Championships and had the highest score of all American pairs at Grand Prix Series this fall.
source: people.com
