Judge allows Eminem to sue Apple

The ad featured Eminem's song Lose Yourself from the film 8 Mile

A judge in the US has allowed a copyright infringement case over an Eminem song to go ahead.

Apple ran an advertisement for its iPod digital music player which had a 10-year-old boy singing the rapper's song Lose Yourself, from the film 8 Mile.

US District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor ruled a suit by Eminem's publishers can be brought against several companies, including MTV's parent company Viacom.

The ad ran on MTV despite Apple not getting permission to use the song.

The suit, filed in Detroit, also names advertising agency TBWA/Chiat/Day.

'No endorsement'

The television ad - which also promoted the iTunes music download service - appeared on US screens from June 2003 for three months.

Defence lawyer Herschel Fink said no viewer would have thought the use of the song would have implied Eminem endorsed the iPod or iTunes.

Eminem's lawyers said the Detroit rapper had never endorsed any products through advertising.

Last month, the rap star won a case against a British company using his name on a website.

Eminemmobile.com, which sold ringtones and picture messages, was ordered to hand the domain name back to the star within 10 days.

The ruling was made by the United Nation's World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)