As originally published by Brock Thiessen on Exclaim!
Believe it or not, Fall Out Boy are being sued over their use of llama puppets.
In a newly filed lawsuit by Furry Puppet Studio Inc., the company is taking legal action against the band, Billboard reports, and it's all to do with Fall Out Boy's video for "Young and Menace" from 2017's M A N I A album.
A 133-page complaint was filed in Manhattan court on March 15 by Furry Puppet Studio Inc., the company that was hired by Rubrik House to create the puppets for the music video. However, according to the complaint, the puppets were for the "Young and Menace" music video only, "but not beyond" that.
Nevertheless, the complaint alleges that the llamas have taken "a life of their own," with Fall Out Boy going on to use the puppets as branding for merchandise, in addition to bringing the puppets onstage with them at concerts and TV appearances and using them to promote the band's Llamania EP released last February.
"None of this was within the scope of the original limited implied license, and none of it was foreseeable to Platintiff," the complaint reads. "The widespread uses of the llamas puppets (which Rubrik had specified were being provided for a specific music video) are so far beyond the scope of the initial project that it would require omniscient clairvoyance from Plaintiff to anticipate that Defendants would, for example, make and sell derivative works as merchandise, use the puppets to brand the band, became the face of the tour, use in numerous other videos, create a musical album, and create a social media app."
The complaint continues, "At no point was the plaintiff ever told that the puppets would be consistently performing on stage, or for all 80 concerts on the tour. And it certainly could not be inferred that they were being used for merchandise (t-shirts, key chains, stuffed animals), GIFs, television appearances, emojis, apps, and social media."
As Billboard reports, the company is now suing the band for copyright infringement, breach of contract, unjust enrichment and other counts.
Fall Out Boy have declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Down below, you can watch the "Young and Menace" video, complete with llama puppets.
