Apple kicked off its product event on Tuesday with a video called Perspective, which it framed as a tribute to people “who have always seen things differently.” The video consists of a long shot in which the camera tracks around a white room; when the camera reaches a certain perspective, random shapes morph into inspirational words.
Apple’s ways of seeing things isn’t different enough, says Andy Gershon, manager of the band OK GO. (He is also a contributor to Bloomberg TV.) The band used the same visual trick for the video for its song “The Writing’s On the Wall.”
OK Go’s video has been viewed over 10 million times since it was posted to YouTube in June. It also won this year’s Video Music Award for best visual effects. It’s entirely plausible that someone would be inspired to make a similar video. But that’s not what happened, Gershon says. He says the band met with Apple in April to pitch that visual concept as a potential video collaboration. Apple declined, so the band made its own video. Apple then hired 1stAveMachine, the production company behind OK Go’s video, to make a video for its iPhone launch event; it also used the same director. Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“The videos speak for themselves and you can draw your own conclusions,” says Gershon, adding that the band is exploring its legal options.
It may not have many. Taking someone’s idea and adapting it for your own purposes in this manner is generally not a violation of copyright law, says Mark Lemley, a professor at Stanford Law School. There is some precedent in state courts for so-called idea submission cases, where someone who has pitched an idea in private has sought relief when that idea is used without their involvement. But Lemley says it’s not clear whether OK Go would prevail in this instance, especially in the absence of a non-disclosure agreement between the two sides.
“You could imagine circumstances where there’s a legal claim here, although I think it’s unlikely to succeed,” he says. “That said, from a PR perspective, I’d say it wasn’t a smart move by Apple.”
