The estate of Johnny Cash is suing Coca-Cola with claims that the global soft drink company hired a tribute singer to imitate the “Folsom Prison Blues” singer in a recent commercial. The “Fan Work is Thirsty Work” ad began airing in August .

The case has been filed under the Elvis Act of Tennessee, a law passed last year that protects a person’s voice from exploitation without consent.

In the complaint filed Tuesday in Nashville, the singer’s estate claimed the brand used Cash’s voice in a nationwide advertising campaign “to enrich itself — without asking for permission or providing any compensation.”

“Stealing the voice of an artist is theft. It is theft of his integrity, identity, and humanity,” wrote Tim Warnock of Loeb & Loeb, a lawyer for Cash’s estate. “The trust brings this law

See Full Page