A lawsuit brought against renowned composer Hans Zimmer over his score for the Oscar-winning film “12 Years a Slave” was dismissed on Aug. 24 in a Los Angeles federal court after the plaintiff withdrew his complaint and issued an apology to Zimmer.
Zimmer, who was represented by Century City-based law firm Kendall Brill & Kelly, had been targeted by composer Richard Friedman who claimed Zimmer had copied his 2004 work entitled “To Our Fallen.”
Friedman first brought the lawsuit against Zimmer in January 2015, but dropped the copyright infringement claim last week.
One of Zimmer’s attorney’s, Philip Kelly, told the Los Angeles Business Journal, “None of the defendants, including Mr. Zimmer, had access to Mr. Friedman’s work.” He added, “It was very hurtful for Mr. Zimmer to be accused of stealing someone else’s work. It was very important for him to fight these claims and make it known that people shouldn’t be bringing baseless copyright cases.”
In his letter of apology to Zimmer, Friedman said, “I sincerely apologize to you for bringing the lawsuit and for the time and expense you incurred in its defense.”
Zimmer released an official statement following Friedman’s withdrawal and the case’s dismissal, saying, “I hope this case’s successful conclusion will persuade other artists who face similar claims that justice can be achieved. I also hope that this dismissal will discourage other plaintiffs who may be motivated by recent high-profile music copyright lawsuits from filing meritless infringement claim.”
