Wylie Gustafson has filed a $5m (拢3.5m) lawsuit against Yahoo!, claiming that he has not been paid for the continued use of his voice.
Yahoo! first used Gustafson in 1996 and, since its early days, his distinctive tones have become known by surfers everywhere.
According to the suit filed on Tuesday in US District Court in Los Angeles, he was paid just $590 for his Yahoo! yodel on the understanding that it would only be used for one specific commercial. His yodel has since been used in thousands of subsequent commercials.
Gustafson said he sent a copy of his lawsuit to the internet company before filing, but did not hear anything back.
"The first I heard of the yodel again was in 1999," Gustafson said. "Since then I've been trying to reach an agreement with Yahoo! in a non-litigious way. And it did not respond."
Gustafson said he is a member of the union for television and radio artists, and that his yodel has been in commercials for clients including Porsche, Sprint and Taco Bell.
Yahoo!'s spokesperson Diana Lee confirmed that Gustafson is the yodelling voice on the "My Yahoo!" television commercials.
However, Lee said the company had not received notification of the suit and had no comment about the pending litigation.
Gustafson is the founder of the Wylie & the Wild West country band and yodelling is often featured in his songs, including 'Yodeling My Blues Away' and 'Yodeling Fool' off the 'Total Yodel' album.
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