Eminem sues Apple over ad

Rap superstar Eminem is suing Apple Computer Inc. on grounds it used one of his hit songs in a TV advertisement without permission.

Eight Mile Style, music publisher of the artist whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, filed the copyright infringement lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court in Detroit. It also names Viacom Inc., its MTV subsidiary and TBWA/Chiat/Day advertising agency as plaintiffs.

Spokesmen for Apple and Viacom were not available for comment.

The lawsuit claims that Apple, in a television ad for its iTunes pay-per-download music store aired on MTV last year, featured a young boy with an iPod portable music player singing the lyrics to “Lose Yourself,” the theme song for Eminem’s hit movie “8 Mile.” Apple did not have permission to use the song, the suit says.