September 4: Intellectual Property Cases O 1.Stigwood, 29-36**** FACTS: o Written by Timothy Rice- lyrics and Andrew Lloyd Weber- music (highly well known) o Production company wanted to perform songs from Jesus Christ Superstar (JCS) in dance setting, Stigwood and Leeds Music Company became upset that Sperber and Original American Touring Company (OATC) were performing this in a dramatic setting, when Stigwood/Leeds own the copyrights to the dramatic performance of JCS. Leeds gave ownership to American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). o Stigwood given dramatic rights, Sperber buys 20 out of 23 songs from Stigwood to tour with, not ok because she can't do the songs in the order she wants because she would be infringing on copyright. o He feels he has been infringed upon for his dramatic rights ISSUES: o Does 20 out of 23 songs in sequential fashion constitute a dramatic presentation? - Sequence of the songs Can Sperber use the name Jesus Christ Superstar in the advertisements? Can Sperber use the name Original American Touring Company (OATC)? DECISIONS 0 The court said that using 20 out of 23 songs DOES constitute a dramatic presentation, in a musical the plot develops through the music, making it a drama (Stigwood wins). o The court said that she COULD NOT use the name Jesus Christ Superstar because it would look as though she was putting on the performance herself, which she wasn't (Stigwood wins). The court said that Sperber was infringing on Stigwood's rights. Weber- worth 1.2 billion-> Has won Tony, Grammy, Oscar O 2.Walt Disney, 37-48**** Type of Case: Parody, Fair Use Facts (1978): Airpirates Comic used identical name and graphic depiction of Mickey Mouse Plots, themes, etc. were different from Disney's O Disney's underlying objective is innocent delightfulness
O Airpirates wanted a message of significance presented in allegorical terms Disney alleged that the Air Pirates infringed its copyrights by using graphic depictions of over 17 Disney characters in adult "counterculture" comics Air Pirates claimed that depictions were used for parody, which is considered a fair use Issues: 7 counts of copyright infringement 1 count of trademark infringement 2 counts of unfair competition Are the characters from the script distinguishable and protectable? Yes Are the copyrights excepted by fair use? No If not fair use, does the first amendment protect these uses? No- first amendment protects ideas, copyright protects expression???? ASK ABOUT THIS Significance: Landmark parody case, stricter interpretation of parody laws Sets precedent for protection of characters O Can you protect cartoons? Note: Ninth Circuit Court decision - court tended to be stricter in these types of cases O 3.Alex Haley, 49-68**** Haley vs Courlander O FACTS O Harold Courlander wrote The African in 1967; in 1973 Alex Haley published Roots telling the same story O Haley sold millions of copies of his book while Courlander only sold a few thousand O Haley claimed he had read The African and taken notes, then paraphrased his notes despite multiple passages being identical or nearly identical