Waits settles in 'imitation' case Singer Tom Waits has settled a case in Germany against a car maker and advertising agency he had accused of imitating him on a TV commercial. Waits sued Adam Opel AG and advertising firm McCann Erickson in 2005, claiming a singer copied his voice and style in an advert aired in Scandinavia. Opel said the music was not intended to mimic Waits, 57. The settlement was not disclosed but Waits' lawyer Kevin Marks said the net proceeds would go to charity. The gravel-voiced singer never allows his songs to be used in advertising - he said he had turned down several offers to do the commercial in question. Opel said the music used in the advert was a Brahms composition. "I'm glad to be out of the car sales business once and for all," said Waits in a statement. Waits won a court case a year ago against another car firm, Volkswagen-Audi, which impersonated his voice and changed one of his songs without permission in a Spanish advert.
