Actor Johnny Depp and rock guitarist Jeff Beck filed a lawsuit Friday in New York Western District Court targeting writer and filmmaker Bruce Jackson over copyright claims he has made concerning his book “Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me,” first published in the early 1970s.
The suit, brought by Brown Rudnick, seeks a declaration that Depp and Beck’s song “Sad Motherfuckin’ Parade” does not infringe Jackson’s work, claiming that the piece the author asserts, a toast attributed to a historical figure named Slim Wilson entitled “Hobo Ben,” is actually public domain.
