The owners of Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack in Chester have been hit with a federal Space Jam copyright lawsuit by the company that owns the theme to the 1996 movie soundtrack, writes Ryan W. Briggs for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The case was filed Wednesday against casino owner Caesar’s in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

It alleges that a Facebook video of a 2019 kickoff event at Harrah’s of its on-site retail sportsbook included the song Space Jam which appears to be playing as attendees are leaving.

“Space Jam” is a live-action animated feature film starring NBA star Michael Jordon and a cast of Looney Tunes characters.

The Watson Music Group purchased the rights to the Space Jam theme song in 2019 and has aggressively defended its copyright.   As of August, Watson had three lawsuits in the works and issued threat letters demanding “retroactive license” payments.

Parts of the soundtrack have shown up over the 27 years since the film’s release in covers, internet memes, and other media.  

The suit contends that Caesar’s received a “financial benefit” from the use of the song through “increased traffic” to its Facebook page.

Find out more about this musical lawsuit in The Philadelphia Inquirer.