'It's A Sunshine Day' in Mass. Federal Court

Image by Getty Images via @daylife"Steal My Sunshine" sang Len in 1999. A New York-based performance artist has filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts alleging that two entertainment companies have done just that.

In Maya Hayuk v. RCA Records, Inc. & Sony Entertainment, Inc. (Case No. 12-cv-10357), the plaintiff alleges a work of art she created in September 2010, entitled "Sunshine" that figured prominently in a music video of the same name by Rye Rye was used without her permission in an October 2011, music video "I Only Want to Give It to You" by Elle Varner.

Hayuk's six-page complaint alleges copyright infringement (17 U.S.C. sec. 101 et seq.) and seeks attorneys' fees, statutory damages, an injunction against the defendants and impoundment of the Varner video. To paraphrase Bill Withers, "Ain't No Sunshine" (without pay).

Tip of the hat to Courthouse News Service, which first reported on this case.