Can You Plagiarize A Play You Licensed To Perform? The Urinetown Saga...
from the you-have-got-to-be-kidding dept
A few years back I got to see the musical Urinetown when it came through San Francisco. It's really very funny, and if you happen to live somewhere that it's playing, I'd recommend you go check it out. However, apparently, in going to watch it in some places, you might be seeing an "infringing" version -- even if it's been properly licensed. William Patry lays out some of the details behind the latest bizarre situation in the world of intellectual property rights, where the folks behind Urinetown's Broadway production accused those behind Chicago's production of plagiarism as well as violations of copyright and trademark law. It wasn't because the folks in Chicago hadn't licensed the work. In fact, the "Chicago team" licensed both the script and the music to perform. Apparently, though, that wasn't enough. The folks in NY said the folks in Chicago had "blatantly" plagiarized and copied the NY production in producing their own version. This is the point at which it might be worth pointing out that of course they copied the NY production. That's because they were putting on the same damn play. Apparently, the folks in NY thought that even with the script and the music, the Chicago version needed to look different than the NY version, which seems rather ridiculous. All of this came out in a lawsuit filed by the people in Chicago against their accusers in NY (who even demanded that the Chicago team "decline and remit" the awards it had won for its production). Unfortunately, the court tossed out the case, as the folks in Chicago apparently sued the wrong party in NY (whoops). So, perhaps there will be a follow up with the correct party being sued. In the meantime, it does seem rather ironic that a play about taking laws to ridiculous extremes now faces just such a battle. Perhaps it'll give the playwright an idea for his next play.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: copyright, performance, trademark, urinetown
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I'd be pissed
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Anarchy
My second thought was to question whether this would be heaven or hell. No lawyers, no politicians, no overzealous overreaching arrogant lawmen... sounds like heaven. Descent into anarchy... sounds like hell, or maybe the beginning of the endtimes.
My third thought was, what am I thinking... corrupt lawyers, politicians, and police... all branches of our government and justice system full of idiots, thieves, morons, and worse... it's too late, we're already experiencing the apocalypse.
Let's all just bend over, take it like adults, and pray we're judged worthy of salvation.
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Re: Anarchy
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"Don't be the bunny!"
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Intellectual property squabbles . . .
You'll see!
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Maybe
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Urinetown "illuminated"
When a theatrical production is mounted AFTER an original broadway production the new producers have the option of buying the entire production and just putting it in a new theatre of their choice. This is called by many "show in a box." You are buying/licensing the entire show, score, book, set, lighting and choreography.
Or you can license the score and book and mount the show yourself with your own designers and directors.
People involved in the Urinetown fiasco have directly told me that the Chicago producers did not license the designs/direction or choreography and then slavisly copied them.
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Re: Urinetown "illuminated"
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Can't copyright lighting design...
Lighting design is not fixed upon tangible medium, ergo, while it may be a method of expression, it is not copyrightable.
A drawing of a stage design is copyrightable. Two different drawings of the same stage design are not copies and do not infringe upon each other. I can paint the same scene you paint, but it's still not a copy.
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Re: Can't copyright lighting design...
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Re: Can't copyright lighting design...
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free press
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Well well well....
I wounder if I will get sued because I didn't put that quote in quotes, even though it is fair use and such... Urinetown lawyers, I dare you, sue the 16 year old kid who loves the show (but has never seen it except for unlicensed bits on youtube)
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crossed a line, apparently
--
that's oldish news. Although they are doing the 'same' play... they just copied the designs and even choreography completely down to a 'T'. While there is a great deal of 'using and reusing' in theatre, these guys I guess went a bit too far in making the production "the same." When you get rights to the music/script -you do not get rights to the designs.
Usually spaces/money are so different that is not an issue, things have to change. And given the relaxed nature of the borrowing bits from here and there common in the industry -they must have really been bad (or stupid about it). Productions usually want to put their own spin/stamp on things too...
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Help Us
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you guys don't get it
It's like Ford suing Chevy for making and selling an identical Taurus.
There are some things you have rights to when you buy the script/music license; if you want to "clone" the whole damn thing you have to pay extra money on top of that (and show yourself to have no creative vision of your own whatsoever....)
Two or three informed people have posted this fact, but don't bother to read and learn.....
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Re: you guys don't get it
If they are not subject to copyright, patent, trademark, or trade secret, they are not subject to any form of legal protection and may be used by others.
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Re: you guys don't get it
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Re: Re: you guys don't get it
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