Frankie Valli And Ex-Jersey Boys Actors Sue Each Other Over Who Can Sing What Songs

from the ownership-society dept

When you're involved in a successful production, sooner or later lawsuits are going to pop up. A couple years ago, we wrote about a legal fight concerning the "ownership" of the famous story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, as chronicled in the massively successful Broadway musical, Jersey Boys. That lawsuit concerned whether or not anyone could claim ownership of basic facts about these guys, as the widow of a guy, who wrote an (unpublished) biography of one of the band members, wanted a cut of the play's revenue. However, it seems as though there are some other lawsuits surrounding the Jersey Boys as well. Apparently Frankie Valli and the four original cast members of Jersey Boys are engaged in a legal battle that's turning nasty.

The cast members want to go around performing covers of the songs in the play. Normally, performing covers is perfectly legal, given that the various compulsory licenses are paid. However, what makes this situation a little tricky is the fact that the musical is still out there. So Valli sued the cast members, saying that they weren't just performing covers, but they were creating a competing "unauthorized" musical, including, copying not just songs but "stage elements" and "logos" from the play.

The four cast members are now counter-suing, claiming that the original lawsuit is "motivated by petty vindictiveness and malice," and saying that Valli is "using bully tactics better suited for the schoolyard." All of that may be true, but it's not clear that much matters in the context of a lawsuit. Much more convincing is the basic claim that everything these four guys are doing is legal. It's factually accurate that they performed in Jersey Boys and can sing those songs, with the proper compulsory license. But, of course, with the added elements of the play, the copyright question gets a bit murkier. All it really shows is how copyright is, yet again, being used to stop performances and creativity, because someone claims to "own" parts of culture. What a shame.

Filed Under: copyright, frankie valli, jersey boys