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T.I. Barred From Using ‘Situationships’ Movie Title Amid Trademark Lawsuit

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T.I. has been hit with a legal injunction that prohibits him from releasing his upcoming comedy movie under the title “Situationships” while litigating claims that he stole the moniker from a web series.

Judge Louis L. Stanton says in a preliminary injunction entered Wednesday (July 9) that web series creator Cylla Senii has “shown a likelihood of success on the merits” of her trademark infringement suit against the rapper (Clifford Harris Jr.) and his company Grand Hustle Films.

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Senii sued T.I. last month, alleging that the upcoming movie Situationships — written, directed by and starring the rapper — lifts its title from her 2016 web series of the same name.

The web series Situationships originated on YouTube and was later distributed by BET Digital, Amazon Prime and Tubi. Senii claims she’s been working for years to adapt the series into a movie of her own, and that she was “shocked” to learn T.I. was planning to use the title for his film.

T.I.’s lawyers say his movie, which filmed in Atlanta last year, is still in post-production and does not yet have a final title. The rapper’s team argues that even if they do ultimately go with the name “Situationships,” there’s no evidence the movie would compete or be confused with “a series that was released to consumers years ago.”

But Judge Stanton’s Wednesday order sides with Senii, saying she “will suffer irreparable harm through the loss of control of its validly obtained mark and damage to the Situationships brand” if T.I. is allowed to use the title.

“It is therefore ordered that Grand Hustle Films, all of its agents and employees, and all other persons acting in concert with defendants, are restrained and enjoined from producing, releasing, teasing, advertising, marketing, announcing or promoting a film titled ‘Situationships,’” writes the federal judge in New York.

Reps for Senii and T.I. did not immediately return requests for comment on Thursday (July 10).

The preliminary injunction is T.I.’s second legal setback this week. On Tuesday (July 8), a federal judge in California slashed the rapper and his wife Tameka “Tiny” Harris’ $71 million jury verdict against toymaker MGA down to $18 million.

The judge in that case found that while T.I. and Tiny proved at trial that MGA’s O.M.G.” dolls copied their real-life teen pop group OMG Girlz, there was not sufficient evidence to merit a $53 million punitive damages add-on. The long-running dispute is now on track to be retried for a whopping fourth time.

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Calvin Harris’ Ex-Business Manager Denies $22M Fraud Claims: ‘Categorically False’

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Calvin Harris‘ former longtime business manager is firing back against bombshell fraud claims, saying he never stole from anybody and that the Scottish DJ willingly agreed to invest in his Los Angeles real estate development project.

Thomas St. John, an entertainment industry-focused accountant who runs the eponymous firm Thomas St. John Group, is currently wrapped up in thorny arbitration proceedings with his former client Harris (Adam Wiles). He’s accused of abusing his access to Harris’ accounts in order to fund his side venture: the construction of a recording studio and office space complex in Hollywood.

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Harris claims that St. John tricked him into investing $22.5 million in the project, known as CMNTY Culture Campus, which he says turned out to be a “complete boondoggle” that he “has not received a single penny in return for” — while suggesting that St. John pocketed much of the money for himself.

However, a representative for St. John says in a new statement that the allegations are “categorically false.” The rep denies that St. John engaged in any self-dealing, adding that Harris is one of nine above-board investors who “knowingly signed investment agreements” to get involved in CMNTY Culture.

“Not a single dollar has been misappropriated, all investor entitlements remain intact, and the project continues to advance within the normal entitlement timeline,” says St. John’s rep in the Tuesday (Sept. 23) statement. “We will continue to take every necessary step to set the record straight and to ensure that these malicious, bad-faith attacks are recognized for what they are: entirely without merit.”

While CMNTY Culture was initially designed to house a recording studio and office space, St. John has since shifted the plans and is now developing a residential apartment complex on the same tract of land in Hollywood. According to his rep, the project is proceeding apace and “is expected to approach a $1 billion valuation” upon completion.

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“While the entitlement process has naturally taken longer than initially projected due to unprecedented interest, macroeconomic conditions and significant city red tape, it remains firmly within its promised schedule and is now on the verge of securing final entitlements, an important milestone that will unlock substantial value,” adds St. John’s rep.

Thomas St. John Group has offices in Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam and Stockholm. The management firm’s U.S. arm recently filed for bankruptcy, citing hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent in L.A. and multiple pending legal actions.

One creditor listed in the firm’s bankruptcy papers is Philip Lawrence, a songwriter and producer who made his name collaborating with Bruno Mars. Lawrence used to be a client of St. John’s and at one point invested $10 million from the sale of his catalog into CMNTY Culture Campus, according to court filings in Lawrence’s own personal bankruptcy case.

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Apple’s Newest AirPods Are Now Available Online: Here’s What to Know About the AirPods Pro 3

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All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Apple’s latest earbuds are here with the AirPods Pro 3 officially released on September 19. The iconic white wireless buds may look (almost) the same on the outside, but they’ve received a pretty major makeover when it comes to its internal features.

But are the new AirPods worth buying? And are they that different from previous generations? Read on for our hands-on review of Apple’s latest wireless earbuds release.

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We got our hands on the AirPods Pro 3 a few weeks ago and have been putting them straight to work — literally. We typically keep our earbuds on all day at work, if not for taking calls then for listening to a playlist or podcast. And just as expected, the new AirPods offer great sound quality, with well-balanced audio — no matter the genre — and crisper details pulled out from each track. Compared to the previous AirPods models, the sound in the Pro 3 feels a little bit bolder and punchier, though we have to admit we didn’t here a drastic difference. Still, songs fill the entire space around you, as if you’re in a listening room or studio and not well, sitting at your desk or couch. Apple says that’s thanks to a new acoustic housing that better supports spatial audio (basically a fancy way of describing theater-like sound with music “floating” around you rather than directly at you). Apple has always been consistent with its audio quality so it’s no surprise that it remains strong here.

The most noticeable improvement is the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) technology. The noise cancellation feature is better than ever and Apple says the new AirPods remove two-times more unwanted noise than the AirPods Pro 2 and four-times more noise removed compared to the original AirPods Pro. They’re not kidding: listening to music in the airport lounge the other day, we almost missed our boarding announcement because we were so immersed (note to self: you can always switch between modes).

We typically use our AirPods out of the office too, especially when we’re out for a run. The gummy ear-tips help the AirPods Pro stay in our ears better than the regular AirPods, and the new earbuds now come with five different eartip sizes to help you perfect your fit. Somewhat strangely, we found the small eartips worked best for our left ear but we sized up to a medium eartip for our right ear. Either way, the earbuds feel totally secure and comfortable, even when we were moving around.

With less comfortable earbuds, we often find ourselves removing them in between use cases, but we tried keeping the AirPods Pro 3 on throughout our workday, and after finding the right “foam-infused” eartips for our ear size, the buds weren’t distracting or uncomfortable to leave on. The foam tips also add as an extra layer of “insulation” so to speak, for passive noise cancellation.

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The best new features though aren’t instantly tangible. For starters, the AirPods Pro 3 now have a built-in heart rate sensor that lets you track your heart rate and calories whether for day-to-day activities or up to 50 different workouts. Apple’s Hearing Aid features, meantime, can now automatically reduce background noise and boost voices, so your conversations come in clearer (say, when you’re using the earbuds on a call).

One of the coolest new features is Apple’s Live Translation tool, which lets you converse with others in a different language with a live translation either on your iPhone or translated directly into your AirPods. Pretty cool right? We tested this out with a friend who spoke Spanish and we found that it was pretty intuitive. With the active noise cancellation mode turned on, the earbuds were also able to lower the volume of the person speaking (in the foreign language) and boost the English translation in our ears.

Apple currently supports Live Translation on the new AirPods for English, French, Spanish, German and Portuguese. The company says Italian, Japanese, Korean and Chinese will be coming to the platform by the end of the year. Just note: to use Live Translation, you need to open up your iPhone settings to download the language the other person is speaking and the language you’d like to translate it to. You’ll also need to be using a new or updated iPhone.

You’ll be pleased to know that battery life is strong: Apple says you can up to 10 hours on a single charge with transparency mode and up to eight hours with ANC turned on. The 8-10 hours range is in line with our testing, but it helps to have the included wireless charging case handy just in case.

Overall, Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 are workhorse earbuds that really do it all. In our opinion, these are some of the best earbuds you can buy online right now, whether you’re using them for music, work, health and fitness, travel or all of the above. You’ll find yourself reaching for them basically every day, making them worth the pick up. Speaking of which: you can get them on Amazon now for $249 here.

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How Two Former Sony Music Mexico Execs Turned Their ‘Big Idea’ Into a Thriving Marketing & Promo Business

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Five years ago, Latin music moguls Diego Laviada and Hernán Villarreal, who both worked at Sony Music Mexico for more than two decades, launched their own marketing and promotion agency called Dubbing Hits. 

“I felt the desire to do something else,” Laviada, CEO of Dubbing Hits and former vp of marketing and promotion at Sony Music Mexico, tells Billboard. “When I told Hernán about wanting to start this project, he got really excited and decided to join me. I didn’t have much to offer him at first, other than this big idea and the dream to follow it.”

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Based in Mexico, Dubbing Hits has become a one-stop company with different verticals specializing in creative and influencer marketing, audiovisual production, paid media, and mass promotion on TV, radio, and digital media, to name a few. The agency also works closely live entertainment companies, events, influencers and brands, and recently teamed up with creative and audiovisual production company Cuarto Piso. 

“When it came to the growth of independent artists, I felt there was a need for professional, experienced, and honest attention that can guide the artist in their different stages,” says Laviada, who has almost 35 years of experience in the industry.

What started off as a small team of six people has evolved into an office with more than 35 employees. Led by Laviada and Villarreal, Dubbing Hits says it has collaborated on more than 1,000 promo plans and 500 music releases, with over 400 of those reaching No. 1 in Mexico; and executed more than 1,500 campaigns that have generated 5.3 billion impressions across 14 countries. The agency has also expanded its campaigns to the coveted screens in New York’s Times Square. 

Dubbing Hits’ notable clients include Alejandro Sanz, Bad Bunny, Carin León, Fuerza Regida, Grupo Firme, Katy Perry, Marc Anthony, Miley Cyrus, Rauw Alejandro, Romeo Santos and Shakira, along with companies such as Disney+, OCESA Seitrack, Rimas and Spotify. 

Now, on the company’s fifth anniversary, Laviada and Villarreal have no plans to slow down. 

“This industry is so extensive with lots of options that I think we make the perfect combination, always with the hunger to support, create and be that partner that believes in the artist and lives their dream,” says Laviada. “Our slogan best explains it: ‘Your project, our passion.’”

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