In more copyright related news following the discovery that Beach House’s music had been ripped off in a television ad for Volkswagen, comes news from John Butler that he has settled his dispute with Oikos Yoghurt over the theft of a riff.

The dispute began just three months ago after the ad was aired during the Superbowl, and fans of the John Butler Trio noticed the distinct similarities between the riff used as the background music and that of the group’s seminal single ‘Zebra’.

“Thank you everyone for making us aware of the Oikos Greek yoghurt TV ad that aired during the Super Bowl (today) featuring a song that sounds extremely similar to Zebra,” said a representative of the band after they were notified of the potential copyright breach.

“John Butler and his management were not aware of this usage until (today) and we will be seeking advice as how to address the issue.”

The Superbowl is watched by over 100 million people in the US and the limited advertising spots during the game cost around $3.5 million per 30 seconds, so the breach may have resulted in a large payout for John Butler.

We say may have, as the parties involved in the dispute, John Butler and USA advertising agency Poptent who created the advertisement, have announced that have come to a confidential but “satisfactory agreement in relation to the use of a song in the advertisement that bore a strong similarity to his composition “Zebra”.”

“The advertisement will no longer contain this particular piece of music and both parties are happy this issue is behind them,” a statement from the band read. “We thank all JBT fans worldwide for their support on this matter. No further comment will be entered into.”

It isn’t the first time the details of this kind of settlement have been kept private. When Canberra band Tonk discovered a US sitcom had used one of their songs without permission in the show they were paid out a ‘large’ sum of money.

But even if we won’t learn exactly how much this kind of behaviour can cost companies through legal action, the lesson here is that it probably will cost you through legal action. And we’re willing to bet that John Butler probably doesn’t have to worry about buying yoghurt again for a very long time.

So next time you think about making an advertisement, make sure you get the right licences, and if you don’t then it probably isn’t a good idea to air the ad during the biggest television event in the world.

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