News from Law360.com: Ninth Ciruit Told JERSEY BOYS Infringed ‘Ed Sullivan’ Rights
February 6th, 2013Matthew Heller of Law360.com has an update regarding the copyright infringement suit between “The Ed Sullivan Show” and the producers of JERSEY BOYS. Check out a preview below:
Law360, Los Angeles (February 05, 2013, 10:42 PM ET) — The owner of rights to “The Ed Sullivan Show†urged the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to revive its copyright infringement suit against producers of a Broadway musical about the Four Seasons, saying “Jersey Boys” use of a brief clip of Sullivan introducing the pop group isn’t protected as fair use.SOFA Entertainment Inc.’s attorney Jaime Marquart argued that a federal judge erred in finding the use of the clip was transformative because it served as a historical reference point in “Jersey Boys,†which tells the rags-to-riches story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The seven-second clip in Dodger Productions Inc.’s presentation of the musical featured Sullivan introducing the group on an episode of his show in 1966.
“The playing of the clip does not become transformative merely because it appears in a play,†Marquart told a three-judge appellate panel, noting that every other scene in the musical was performed with actors and stage props.
“Only Mr. Sullivan’s performance was performed to the audience as is,†he said.
But Dodger Productions’ attorney David Korzenik insisted that the Ed Sullivan clip had been transformed in a “very powerful way.â€
Click HERE to read the full article.
How absurd is all of this stuff. If anything this little clip of Ed Sullivan is strictly musical history. Many of the younger show fans do not know who he was. Stuff like this is so damn silly that it makes me sad that courts would waste their time.
Comment by Gladys Marlin — February 7, 2013 @ 5:17 am