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29. 06. 11. - 17:00

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29. 06. 11. - 17:00

Rihanna Copyright Row

A teenage German photographer is demanding six-figure compensation after claiming that Rihanna stole his 'S&M' photo concept for a hit music video.

The lawyer acting for 19-year-old Philipp Paulus claims a scene in Rihanna's bondage-themed video was based on his fashion photography series "Paperworld."

Paulus' work included a woman in a red dress held against a wall via plastic wrapping with black tape in X-marks over it

Rihanna's video features herself in the same setup with plastic wrapping and crosses, although her dress and hair are styled differently.

Lawyer Philip Jakober said Universal Music Group had admitted the similarities but had not made a reasonable offer to settle the matter prompting the legal case.

He said: "Certain video-scenes of the music-video 'S&M' are essentially the basics of the copyright protected achievements and creations of our client."

Jakokber alleged that the copyrights on Paulus' works had been violated by the successful music video and "the worldwide million-wise exploitation of video ‘S&M' is unlawful."

Paulus, a German photographer whose studio is based in Paris, said he was amazed that Rihanna, 23, didn't express more originality in her work.

"Why a worldwide celebrity is not able to afford a creative director, who creates individual concepts and stagings, is incomprehensible to me," he said.

"While I really respect Rihanna's talents as a musician, nevertheless it is important to respect the creations of others, even young talents," he said, "and not to copy their work without legitimacy for earning money with it in order to make money."

It is the second case to be filed by a photographer against Rihanna and Universal Music for stealing their ideas. David LaChapelle has already filed a lawsuit accusing the singer of ripping off his work.

LaChappelle, 48, argued in court documents filed in Manhattan Federal Court in February that certain scenes in "S&M" video are "directly derived from and substantially similar" to eight of his photographs.

German Herald

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