Appeals Court Affirms Dismissal Of Frank Sivero's Publicity Rights Suit Against 'The Simpsons'

from the you've-been-simponsized dept

You may recall that in 2014, bit-actor Frank Sivero of Goodfellas semi-fame sued Fox over a recurring character that appeared on The Simpsons. Sivero says several writers for the show were living next door to him just before Goodfellas began filming, at a time he says he was creating the character of Frankie Carbone. He then claims that the writers for The Simpsons were aware of this work and pilfered it to create the character Louie, who is one of Fat Tony's henchmen. Because of this, he claimed that the show had appropriated his likeness, the character he was creating, and decided he was owed $250 million from Fox for all of this. For its part, folks from The Simpsons claimed that Louie is an amalgam of stereotypical mobster characters and a clear parody of those characters.

In response, Fox asked a Los Angeles Superior Court to strike the complaint on anti-SLAPP grounds. In 2015, the court agreed, the ruling resulting from such memorable exchanges as:

"If I was a teenage girl and I had a crush on your client, would I be satisfied with a pin-up of the character Louie?" [Judge Rita Miller] asked.

"Probably," replied Sivero's attorney Alex Herrera. He argued the character's similarity to Sivero constituted a factual question fit for a jury. Judge Miller found her own evaluation of the character's similarity to Sivero relevant to whether the claims could withstand the SLAPP motion. She decided they could not.

Sivero and his legal team apparently didn't get the hint and appealed. This past week saw the California appeals court affirm the original ruling and rejecting the lawsuit on the same anti-SLAPP grounds. This ruling too includes memorable statements, such as the court specifically stating that being "Simponized" is transformative.

Sivero acknowledges his likeness has been 'Simpsonized,'. To be 'Simpsonized' is to be transformed by the creative and artistic expressions distinctive to The Simpsons. This is precisely what the California Supreme Court meant in Comedy III when it said: 'an artist depicting a celebrity must contribute something more than a merely trivial variation, [but must create] something recognizably his own, in order to qualify for legal protection.' Contrary to Sivero’s argument, the fact other cartoon characters in The Simpsons share some of the same physical characteristics does not detract from the point these physical characteristics are transformative. Indeed, Sivero’s observation highlights the very point that the creative elements predominate in the work.

Between the transformative nature of the depiction, the clear differences between the character and Sivero, and the parody nature of the character in general, this was a case that was always doomed for failure. It should also serve as a welcome relief for the entertainment industry that has spent the past few years looking down the barrel of the publicity rights gun. For these kinds of depictions to violate anyone's publicity rights would serve as a detriment to the creative industries, particularly those that rely on humor and parody.

Thankfully, several courts have now seen through this clear attempt at a money-grab.

Filed Under: frank sivero, gangster, publicity rights, simpsons
Companies: fox

DailyDirt: A Car Designed For The Average Consumer

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

American highways are slowly filling up with Crossover vehicles that drive like a car but have some of the height and space of an SUV. Sedans still outnumber Crossovers, but this non-car-non-SUV segment is growing rapidly. The Toyota RAV4 came out in 1994, but in 1991, a car design no one of a certain age will ever forget made its debut on The Simpsons. The Homer will have the last laugh. Here are some links to prove it.

• A real-world version of The Homer raced in the 24 hours Of LeMons in 2013. It finished in 5th place, but it didn't fully capture the essence of The Homer. [url]
• If you missed the episode "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" when it first aired, you can read up on the specs of The Homer on The Simpsons Wikia page. The car was built by Powell Motors (owned by Homer's half-brother Herb), and ultimately ruined the fictitious Detroit automaker. [url]
• The Homer was actually ahead of its time in some ways, sorta. No soundproof bubble domes for kids yet, but active noise cancellation and some child safety restraint systems might be a step in that direction. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: automobiles, cars, crossover vehicle, simpsons, suv, the homer
Companies: toyota, wikia

DailyDirt: It's National Doughnut Day!

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Today is National Doughnut Day, and to celebrate, many shops -- like Dunkin' Donuts, Krispy Kreme, and Tim Hortons -- are giving away free doughnuts. A "national doughnut day" just sounds like another holiday made up for businesses to make more money, but it was actually established in 1938 by the Salvation Army to raise money during the Great Depression and to honor the female volunteers who served meals (and doughnuts) to soldiers on the front lines during World War I. Here's some more doughnut-related news.

• If you're a Simpsons fan, you'll want to check out the Lard Lad Donuts at the new Springfield at Universal Orlando Resort. While you're there, you might as well grab a Duff beer at Moe's Tavern too. [url]
• A good ol' plain doughnut just doesn't cut it anymore. Enter the "cronut," a somewhat more sophisticated hybrid croissant-doughnut pastry. The cronut was just introduced at the Dominique Ansel Bakery in SoHo on May 10, and it has already taken New York City and the pastry world by storm. Apparently, it's not easy to make -- it takes three days from start to finish to make a cronut.[url]
• On the West Coast, Psycho Donuts in the Bay Area makes a unique treat called "The Foie Bomb." It's a doughnut hole filled with foie gras mousse, pierced with a pipetful of balsamic gastrique, fig, and honey, and topped with a salted and fried sage leaf. The store is offering the Foie Bomb for free on National Doughnut Day, which gets around the ban on selling foie gras in California.[url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: cronut, donuts, doughnut, duff beer, foie gras, food, simpsons, springfield

Universal And Fox Sued Over Simpson's Theme Park Ride... By A Musicians' Union

from the if-we-didn't-think-of-it,-it-must-be-illegal dept

The Simpsons has had a long run (perhaps overly so) and, despite being Fox's cash cow for the last quarter century, has never been targeted with a lawsuit. It took the show being turned into a theme park ride to do it and even then, it took over four years from the ride's debut before something Simpson's-related became suit-worthy.

And it's not about licensing, trademarks, copyright or any of the usual suspects. It's about the music. The Simpson's theme music that runs nonstop from entrance to exit is the problem. While it would seem obvious that the rights would be cleared on an officially licensed theme ride, the American Federation of Musicians says it isn't.

[T]he union is objecting to a Simpsons roller coaster attraction at Universal Studios Theme Park in Hollywood that has been featuring the recorded music soundtrack from the show. The plaintiff union filed the lawsuit in California federal court, alleging that Universal obtained the recording without providing any notice.

According to the complaint, both Fox and Universal are parties to a 2010 agreement with the musicians guild that "include(s) a broad restriction on new uses" of music recorded for TV shows...

The lawsuit states, "Universal's use of music sound track from The Simpsons at its park does not fall within any of the new use exceptions enumerated in Article 8 of the Agreement and, thus, is not an authorized new use under the Agreement."

As far as statements go, AFM's allegation that Universal's use of the theme music for its ride does not fall within the "defined new uses" is true. It doesn't. Universal's counterclaim, that the use of the soundtrack is "promotional" and therefore, not subject to AFM's royalty demands, could also be considered largely factual. After all, a theme park ride is a giant advertisement for the franchise. But when all the crosstalk dies down, what it really looks like is a royalty grab by AFM, whose contractual language failed to nail down specific rates for use of its music by a theme park attraction.

The filing notes that Fox originally "engaged the professional services of AFM musicians" when recording the theme song. But Universal skipped an important step, at least according to AFM, by putting the theme song to use on the Simpson's ride without notifying the union. Why should AFM been notified? It's tough to say. From the lengthy listing of various permutations that should result in a royalty payment to AFM, it appears the musicians' union feels it should be involved even in situations the contract never directly addresses.

Because Universal, with Fox's permission, used Simpson's theme music to soundtrack an amusement park ride, AFM feels it should get paid (again). But it seems to have no standing based on the quoted contractual wording. Universal's use of the soundtrack doesn't fit into the "PAY UP" bin and, according to AFM, it doesn't fit into the "EXCEPTIONS" bin, either. Unable to pin down exactly why Universal should be paying more royalties, AFM instead recasts this "new" usage as a violation of its members' rights, accusing Univeral of "breach of labor agreement."

Not paying for something no one's asked for (yet) is hardly "breach of contract." Universal's claim that the use is "promotional" puts it back in compliance with the contract, but AFM doesn't want Universal in compliance... or at least not under that heading, which would result in no further royalty payments. Instead AFM has asked for an injunction against Universal to prevent it from further "exploiting" the Simpson's music and is suing both Fox and Universal for "breach of contract" and any owed royalties. And all of this over a development AFM didn't see coming: a theme park ride.

Considering the principals involved in this suit are IP-behemoths Fox and Universal, it's hard to believe that either of the companies deliberately avoided running this plan past AFM simply to avoid paying some royalties. Sure, Universal's music arm has this problem, but this case deals with one of Fox's most successful IPs turning into a theme park attraction with Universal's expertise on that end. Some IP was transferred from Fox to Universal, presumably to cross all t's and dot all i's. This lawsuit, coming as it does more than four years after the ride's debut, feels more like some overactive lawyering/rent-seeking rather than a case of deliberate shafting by Fox and Universal. 

Filed Under: copyright, music, simpsons
Companies: afm, fox, universal

South Korean Animators Protest Banksy Simpsons Opening... Which They Animated

from the the-simpsons... dept

You may remember the attention paid recently to the Banksy-created opening of the Simpsons, which (among other things) portrayed animators working under sweatshop-like conditions, to produce the cartoon. We had mentioned it after Fox issued a DMCA takedown on the video, which had been uploaded to Banksy's account. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but that YouTube video is back up: That said, what may be more interesting is this story about how the South Korean animators who did, in fact, animate that opening sequence protested the whole thing, and pushed back until at least some of the sequence was changed. I will admit that my first impression on hearing about it was to think that Banksy confused North Korea with South Korea, and that does appear to be what some others have said as well. While it is true that South Korean animators make less than American animators, it's hardly "sweatshop" conditions. Still, in the end, the animators animated the sequence in question, but are making it known that they don't think the depiction is fair.

Filed Under: animation, banksy, simpsons, south korea

Fox Gets Tons Of Attention For Banksy Simpsons Video... Then Pulls It Off YouTube

from the you're-doing-it-wrong... dept

Late Sunday night, the talk of the internet was the extremely "dark" open sequence for The Simpsons, which was apparently done by famed artist Banksy, and which made a statement about Asian animation and manufacturing sweat shops producing both Simpsons animations and merchandise. According to various reports, there was a lot of back and forth from News Corp. about getting this approved, and even animators for the show initially refused to animate the opening. However, it eventually went out, and was an instant sensation. And, of course, once it's an instant sensation, lots of folks went online to see it, and Banksy apparently uploaded the video to his own channel on YouTube (where I saw it). However, as Benny6Toes alerts us, the video has now been taken down from YouTube, apparently due to a copyright claim from 20th Century Fox: Of course, the "official" video is available on Hulu if you're in the US, and you can find it elsewhere if you really want. But it seems rather pointless and petty for it to be taken down from Banksy's official account. Now, it could just be YouTube's ContentID system (in fact, I'd guess that's what it was) rather than an official DMCA takedown notice, but if that's the case, it again highlights the silliness of doing automated takedowns like that, where this seems like a case that Fox and the show are getting extra promotion by not just allowing the original video to air, but then to make it available for people to see...

Filed Under: banksy, copyright, fox, simpsons, takedown
Companies: 20th century fox, news corp.

Could Looking At London's 2012 Olympics Logo Land People In Prison?

from the pornographic-simpsons dept

Well, here's a fun one sent in by ChurchHatesTucker. You may have heard the somewhat troubling story of the guy found guilty of child pornography for downloading images of the cartoon Simpsons performing sexual acts. It does seem a bit ridiculous to claim that naked versions of famous cartoon characters represent actual child porn, but... so sayeth the court. But, here's the potential problem: That is the logo for the 2012 Olympics in London. My first reaction to it was that it's just hideous from a design standpoint, but others quickly noticed something worse. You can look at that logo and... um... see what appears to be Lisa Simpson... doing something she shouldn't be doing. Yeah. Once you see it, it never goes away. So, as CHT notes, given that ruling of child porn for having an image of a Simpsons cartoon child performing sex acts... is looking at the 2012 Olympic logo going to be classified as viewing child porn now?

Filed Under: logo, london, olympics, simpsons

Online Ad Rates Higher On Certain TV Shows Than TV Ad Rates

from the go-simpsons dept

We were just being told by a supposedly respectable media analyst that things like Hulu were anti-American, because it gave away content for "free" and could potentially bring down the entire media business. Yet, it appears that media businesses are learning how to monetize that online content quite well. Bloomberg notes that for shows like The Simpsons and CSI, online ad rates are actually higher than TV ad rates. There are good reasons for this, including the fact that advertisers recognize viewers of shows online are more committed to the shows -- in that they actively chose to seek out and watch that show, as opposed to just having the TV on in the living room while doing something else. Also, people are more willing to watch those ads, in part because they're shorter and they don't have to watch as many to get to the content they want. Now, it is true that the number of viewers still represents a substantial difference and that media companies rely heavily on carriage fees from cable companies and the like. But the idea that ads can't support TV shows online doesn't seem to be based on anything in reality.

Filed Under: csi, online ads, simpsons, tv ads

Man Charged With Uploading Simpsons Movie He Filmed With His Mobile Phone

from the and-how-much-damage-did-it-do? dept

Last month, we noted that while the Simpson's Movie was widely available online to be downloaded, it appeared to do little to dampen the enthusiasm for going to the theater, as the movie did amazingly well in the theaters. However, that hasn't stopped the entertainment industry from continuing to freak out. Raymond L writes in to let us know that, down in Australia, a man has been charged with being the first person to upload a copy of the movie for downloads. The entertainment industry makes it sound like this was a huge deal, but neglects to mention the commercial success of the movie, which suggests there weren't many people who used the downloaded version as a substitute for the real thing. Also, the article says that the man used a cameraphone to record the movie, which (if true, it seems hard to believe that he had enough storage to record the whole thing) has to make you wonder about the quality of the movie anyway. So, we appear to have a case where a guy filmed a very bad version of the movie and put it online -- which probably didn't make many people stay away (and, in fact, may have encouraged many people to go to the theater). But, of course, the entertainment industry doesn't want to hear any of that. They just want the guy in court.

Filed Under: cameraphone, copyright, piracy, simpsons

Chinese Newspaper Uses Homer Simpson 'X-Ray' To Illustrate Article On Multiple Sclerosis Discovery

from the whooops dept

You may remember back in 2002, when the Beijing Evening News accidentally believed a story from The Onion and wrote up a whole article (apparently without a single fact check) about how Congress was threatening to move away from Washington DC unless they were given a new capitol building with a retractable dome. For a while, the paper denied that it had simply copied the story and not done any fact checking, until it realized that it was too difficult to deny. Then it issued a hilarious non-apology, basically blaming The Onion for purposely tricking the reporters in an effort to make money ("Some small American newspapers frequently fabricate offbeat news to trick people into noticing them, with the aim of making money. This is what the Onion does... According to congressional workers, the Onion is a publication that never ceases making up false reports."). It appears that there's still some sloppy reporting going on over in China. The English-language Xinhuanet has a story up about the discovery of two genes that may lead to multiple sclerosis. However, the image they used (which they've since taken down) to illustrate this finding happens to be an amusing drawing of an "x-ray" of beloved cartoon character Homer Simpson's head. Now, obviously, there have been a ton of promotional tie-ins with the new Simpson Movie, but somehow we doubt this was done on purpose. We can't wait to see if the news agency figures out a way to blame this one on the Simpsons as well.

Filed Under: china, homer, simpsons