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If this isn’t the most interesting thing I’ve read today. There’s a lot to learn also from this story. So, pay close attention…

 

Apparently, there’s a women currently in an all out battle with Viacom and the BET Network over a Facebook fan page she created for the hit show “The Game.”   Stacey Mattocks, an insurance agent, created the page in 2008 when the show was still on the CW. The Facebook page she created ended up being one of the vital tools that helped the show get back on the air, after it was canceled by the CW. At the time, Mattocks says that her page had about 750,000 likes when BET began their promotional run about the new season. During this time, Mattocks said the page then received about 100,000 new likes per week. Because of the shows popularity, the network knew that the Facebook page played a huge part in securing the 7.7 million viewers who tuned in to watch ‘The Game’ premiere. The Facebook page had reach over 3 million likes. So, BET offered to give Mattocks a job as a social media freelancer. Her salary would be $30 a hour.

 

“BET was searching for a more ‘permanent’ way to capitalize on the FB Page and Mattocks’ efforts,” says the lawsuit. “Therefore, on December 15, 2010, BET submitted a proposed contract to Mattocks that would have paid her a maximum of $85,000.00 over a one year period. Mattocks declined this offer because it was unreasonably low, would have stripped her of all rights to the FB Page, and, moreover, could have been terminated at any point by BET, with or without cause.”

 

Since Mattocks refused their second offer, BET continued to try to persuade her to hand over the rights to the page. She says she was taken out on expensive dinners, flown to Los Angeles,  invited to red carpet events, and even attended the premier party. She was even credited to have played a part of the show’s success in newspaper and magazine articles.  At one point, BET tried to create their own page but they didn’t get as many “likes” or “followers” as Mattocks. BET eventually offered her a third offer in which she also refused.

 

By August 2012, Mattocks page had 6.2 million likes. BET tried to have the page deleted. Then the network asked for administrative rights so that they too could also control the page. BET sent her a cease-and-desist letter and also tried to have her page completely shut down. Mattocks claims that her page was bringing in some substantial income.

 

The removal of the Facebook page caused Mattocks to lose income, she says. At the time, she had worked out a deal with some company called Sulia that paid her about $2,000 to $3,000 per week, plus $300-$500 in sponsored posts. She says she also got money from Google AdSense and for Amazon referrals.

 

Therefore, Mattocks struck back and hired an attorney. In her lawsuit, she alleges “that BET has committed tortious interference, breach of contract, breach of good faith and fair dealing and copyright infringement. The latter count is based on the allegation that BET copied elements from her Facebook page onto its own Facebook page.”

 

Mattocks case could become precedent because of the nature of the claims. Online content and who has the rights to its ownership, work-for-hire, if companies/networks can legally take control over fan-based pages, and more are all legal questions that will be answered in this case. This is the first I’ve ever heard of something like this. So, it will be interesting to see what the outcome will be.

 

Viacom nor BET has produced official statements as of yet.

 

 

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

 

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