Kelsea Ballerini's Serious Lawsuit, Explained

Ballerini filed a restraining order against a hacker who allegedly leaked her music.

By Ashley Turner

Country music star Kelsea Ballerini is not taking any chances when it comes to protecting her intellectual property. The acclaimed singer has pursued legal measures against an individual suspected of leaking her unreleased music. Ballerini, 30, has filed a court action seeking a temporary restraining order against Bo Ewing, who is accused of unlawfully obtaining and distributing "still-in-production, unreleased masters and demos" of Ballerini's music, court documents reviewed by People show.

Located in Ohio, the alleged hacker is described as "a former member of Ms. Ballerini's fan club" and "a supporter of her career in the past" who "has since become disenfranchised with Ms. Ballerini" according to the motion. In addition to the singer, the plaintiffs include a record company, Black River Entertainment, as well as a producer who worked on Ballerini's recordings, Alyssa Vanderheym.

As stated in the court documents, Ewing allegedly acquired the files "through gaining back-door access to the device of either, or both, of Ms. Ballerini or Ms. Vanderheym." In addition, the plaintiffs also noted that Ewing had already shared the file with multiple third parties and that the music in question was not yet finished.

To prevent the illegal release of these recordings, Ballerini, Black River Entertainment, and Vanderheym secured an injunction to prevent future infringement, noting "continued, irreparable harm" on the plaintiff's part. A spokesperson for Ballerini told People, "Protection of an artist's music is of the upmost importance. Artists spend countless hours perfecting their craft and telling their stories through their music. Stealing and sharing unfinished music is illegal and harms the integrity of the creative process."

Just a week later, both sides announced on April 24 that they had agreed on a preliminary injunction against Ewing, which will remain in place until the final resolution of the case has been decided. In the injunction signed by his lawyers, Ewing is not only prohibited from disseminating Ballerini's materials but also required to disclose who he has already shared them with and how he came to possess the music, Billboard reported.

"Defendant shall, within thirty days of entry of this order, provide plaintiffs with the names and contact information for all people to whom defendant disseminated the recordings," the agreement reads. "Defendant shall use his best efforts to disclose to Plaintiffs from whom and by what means he obtained the recordings."

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By accepting this agreement, Ballerini's attorneys will be able to avoid a legal fight over an injunction, which they had asked a federal judge to impose regardless of Ewing's cooperation. Consequently, they warned that if Ewing was allowed to release the allegedly leaked songs online widely, it would cause "immediate and ongoing harm."

"The most critical time for an album's success is its initial release date," said Ballerini's attorneys in their motion for the injunction. "Hacks like this substantially diminish both performers' and labels' ability to realize the full benefits of the release because the work is already available for download, for free, at the time of the official release."

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