Waits is breaking new legal ground

Tom Waits has a very distinctive voice and it seems that many corporations want to use it to peddle their wares, with or without his permission. It looks like he's making a whole lotta dough and maintaining his artistic integrity by suing the bastards when they use his voice without his consent.
"Sixteen years ago, he won an influential case against Frito-Lay over a vocal sound-alike in a Doritos commercial, and he has pursued imitators ever since. Last Friday, Waits was awarded damages in a case against Audi for a commercial in Spain using music that was similar to his song 'Innocent When You Dream,' sung in a voice like his. Another lawsuit is pending in Germany against the Opel division of General Motors, this one for a version of the Brahms 'Lullaby' performed in what he calls a suspiciously Waitsian voice."

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