EFF Sues Barney Producers over Spoof Sites 154
PetManimal writes "The Electronic Frontier Foundation is suing the company that produces 'Barney and Friends' for harassing the creator of a Barney parody Web site. Barney producers Lyons Partnership has threatened lawsuits over the past few years against Stuart Frankel and his parody site, actions which the EFF says violates freedom of speech and fair use laws. The parody site contains doctored images of Barney, and claims the purple dinosaur is the Antichrist. From the article: 'Lyons Partnership has sent multiple cease-and-desist letters to Frankel for a Web page that includes a depiction of the fuzzy purple dinosaur as Satan. In an October letter, Lyons demands that Frankel immediately take down copyrighted images of Barney. The company threatens to take legal action or contact Frankel's Internet service provider if he doesn't comply.'"
Barney's got a brand new bag (Score:5, Funny)
They sue me
We're all part of a
Lawyer-enriching Copyright industry that contributes little to the public good.
Does that rhyme?
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> They sue me
> We're all part of a
> Lawyer-enriching Copyright industry that contributes little to the public good.
To the Lyons partners,
Dewey Cheatem, Howe,
Up yours, Barney.
Pay Stu now.
Re:Barney's got a brand new bag (Score:5, Insightful)
Oh wait, that's the wrong song.
So Barney, who has spent his entire career putting new words to very old songs, is suing someone for parodying his work? That would be like Puff Daddy suing over someone parodying "I'll be Missing You." (And yes I realize that the big purple dinosaur is not really doing the suing but it's more amusing to think of it that way.)
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Re:Barney's got a brand new bag (Score:5, Funny)
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I'm just a big purple dinosaur. I fell on some ice and later got thawed out by some of your scientists. Your world frightens and confuses me! Sometimes the honking horns of your traffic make me want to get out of my BMW.. and run off into the hills, or wherever.. Sometimes when I get a message on my fax machine, I wonder: "Did little demons get inside and type it?" I don't know! My primitive mind can't grasp these concepts. But there is one thing I do know - when a man like the defendant makes fun of big purple rhyming dinosaurs, then he is entitled to no less than two million years in jail. Thank you.
R.I.P. Phil Hartman, Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer [jt.org]
Re:Barney's got a brand new bag (Score:5, Informative)
I did finally find it at this address [dustyfeet.com] and did a whois to make sure the domain is owned by Stuart Frankel. Not much here except some dead links (other threatened sites?) and what appears to be Fair Use to me, but IANAL.
Parody v. Satire? (Score:2)
What's the difference; wikipedia has lost me
(Parody: "In contemporary usage, a parody is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject.")
(Satire: "Satire is a technique of writing or art which exposes the follies of its subject (for example, individuals, organizations, or states) to ridicule, often as an int
Re:Parody v. Satire? (Score:5, Insightful)
Now pretend you and I use the same song "Bad" to make fun of George Bush, or IBM, or Microsoft or something EXCEPT the original song/artist/concept itself. That is satire. The song "Bad" is no longer the thing we are making fun of, we are just using it for another purpose. This is NOT fair use.
The difference is the target, not the vehicle. And yes, sometimes it gets cloudy, and what it is your are making fun of may not always be clear. Whether Wikipedia sees it this way, in a court of law (from my limited experience) this is how it is defined.
Or to make it shorter: It is Fair Use to use a copyrighted item to make fun the of the same copyrighted item (parody), but not Fair Use to use a copyrighted item to make fun of something else (satire).
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Except that Wierd Al gets permission from the original artist to do the parodies. Check it out some time - he couldn't get permission to do a song based on one of Eminem's songs (I believe Eminem even tried to sue Wierd Al over it), so he dropped the entire thing.
With "You're Pitiful", Wierd Al got permission from the original art
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Using it to sell your own product, however, is definately a no no. Again, the target or context is what makes it legal or not. The fact that you used the photo doesn't.
Some courts are leaning toward
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I love sue
Sue happy
Litigatious family
With a great big team
Of lawyers just for you
Don't you say I'm Anti-foo!
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DEAR SIR:
It has recently come to our attention that you have recently published a rhyme to the website "slashdot.org" in a similar cadence to the protected IP of Barney. You are hereby notified that in our informed legal opinion this constitutes infringement of our copyright.
Copyright infringement is a serious matter. If you are found liable in a civil suit you could be liable for damages up to $150,000 per willful infringement. Criminal sanctions are also possible. If you are found guilty of criminal c
There is a correlation (Score:2)
If you read the article he linked to, then I think you would see a logical correlation between polar bears and most
Shrinkage (Score:2)
They missed the obvious cause of the problem. IT IS COLD THERE.
As George Costanza would say; "I was in the pool!"
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So will I be sued for my Hulk stuff? (Score:3, Interesting)
P.S. Satire is protected speech - doesn't that apply here in the Barney case?
SLAP worse than smash. (Score:5, Insightful)
will these type of people threaten a lawsuit against me ... or just SMASH?!?
You might think the whole affair is funny, but the ability to use popular culture icons to make a point is what's being defended.
That depends on who you piss off and how many people notice. If both are true, you might get slapped [wikipedia.org], which makes this kind of harassment worse than it looks at first.
The regulation of broadcast has given tremendous power to those who control it. They have had the ability to mold and use popular culture for a long time. Your inability to use their images and sounds as shortcuts to make a point put you at a disadvantage when you want to argue a point with the public. Cable and the internet has diminished broadcast influence, but there's plenty of concentrated power left as this Barney case illustrates. Ultimately, free culture will level the playing field. An EFF victory here will make others easier.
At stake is your ability to use your culture for your own ends. That ability is only in doubt because copyright law is out of control.
Re:SLAP worse than smash. (Score:4, Insightful)
Not necessarily. If we reach a point [slashdot.org] where the Internet is not a level field [slashdot.org], then we will be right back where we were twenty years ago: Freedom of the press belongs to those who own one. Given that the people in the US with the money and power are directly threatened by free competition, that the people who benefit most from it (We The People) are predominately ignorant of what is happening, and that even those who do know what is happening are too comfortable to make real sacrifices (eg: jail, bodily harm, death) to defend it, how long do you think the free Internet is going to last?
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Nah. More likely it's the professional "Barney Marketing People" raising a media kerfuffle desperately trying to generate some publicity. Kids' stuff doesn't last as long these days so they have to squeeze every last bit out of a concept.
My son loved that purple thing when he was two, three, *maybe* four, but now "Barney" is seen by pre-teens as a euphemism for juvenile interests and this sort of notion filters down to the younger kids via memes.
In my day, kids
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Marvel Comics doesn't go after fan sites unless they have created software/games including the characters or are selling something.
Your Hulk site should be fine.
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Yes, satire is protected, but the use of copyrighted images is not.
In other words: It's ok for you to draw a picture of Barney for satirical use, but you can't copy their drawing of Barney.
Yes, you are wrong (Score:2)
Using copyrighted images as part of a parody is, and has long been, completely lawful under the doctrine of fair use and requires no permission from Lyons Partnership.
etc. etc.
legal analysis by EFF: http://dustyfeet.com/evil/legal2.html [dustyfeet.com]
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Actually, this is often not the case. Parody has been found to be protected in the majority of fair use cases, which deals primarily with poking fun directly at the copyrighted entity in question; whereas satire is rarely held as fair use, since it uses the copyrighted entity to poke fun at something else.
The real challenge here for the Lyons Partnership will be proving that the Barney Antichrist was satirical in nature. I
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Barney...Isnt he dead? (Score:2, Funny)
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One Line Of Legal Defense (Score:5, Funny)
I dunno about copyright infringement, but they should be safe from any defamation charge -- truth is an absolute defense.
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I hope the EFF really lays the smack down on Lyons Partnership.
Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man... (Score:2)
HeHEY!! KIDS!!!
I dunno....doesn't quite work does it?
As a prent of 2 toddlers and an infant... (Score:2)
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The address (Score:3, Informative)
Revised Re:The address (Score:4, Informative)
Stuart may relate this on his page (it's been a while since I read it), but from talking to him it basically has escalated, and they chose to sue, because despite an order to only contact him through his lawyers at the EFF, Barney's folks have continued to mail him nastygrams directly.
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As of this writing nobody has heard back from the Barney lawyers. This is scary because their letters were obviously sent automatically, and when the computers finally do take over, it's not going to be by controlling the power grid but by sending out legal notices. So the process may have started at Lyons' lawyers. Either that or they're all pod people.
And, yes, it's unethical for the lawyers to contact me directly after I have an attorney of record in the case and, yes, we've filed an eth
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And Barney Doom?
Hmm. (Score:4, Insightful)
What's the legal standing of taking someone else's photographs and modifying them, even for Satire or Parody?
I'd suggest Frankel make up his own costume and photograph it.
We're quick to take issue when, during a poltical campaign, some photograph of Kerry giving a speech years ago is doctored. I think there is some precedent there. Doesn't it apply equally to what Frankel is doing?
Doctored Kerry photo. (Score:2, Funny)
I doctored it, and then I undoctored it.
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The doctored photos of Kerry were different - they weren't satire or parody. And the furor over them wasn't about copyright violation - it was over the intent to deceive.
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There's a difference between doctoring something and asserting that it's a true image, and doctoring something as parody. As long as the site is using the images as parody, he should be in the clear. Hell, TV shows do it all the time for purposes of parody.
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Using the images of the copyright holder is considered Fair Use if it does not reduce their ability to make a profit (ie: you are giving away an image they charge for) or cause confusion about the intent of what you are doing
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He is making a parody of Barney.
No one will got o the site and think it is an actual Barney site, or confuse that site with an offiial site.
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Calling something/someone the 'antichrist' is not a parody. It's a statement. Drawing a generic purple dinosaur with big red horns would be a parody.
If you don't believe me, try this on for size: Linux is shit. Haha, I parodied. You can't get angry because it's just a parody.
No? Yeah, doesn't work like that. Everyone with
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Doctoring a photo of someone to make false claims about that person in order to disrepute them is not satire or parody, especially if it's a political campaign presenting itself as being factually based rather than being a creative work.
The case of doctored photos of John Kerry being used in campaign commercials has nothing to do with copyright or trademark infringement.
Did the lawyers read the dmca law? (Score:4, Interesting)
That being said, such a court ruling would almost be automatic. Parody sites are protected, I helped one of my clients stand up against the big bad e-bay and they won. I'd post a link, but
I've never, ever seen someone threaten to go to the isp *last*
At this point their lawyers saying anything other than "Duh!" would be almost as comical as the parody itself.
What a world.
Re:Did the lawyers read the dmca law? (Score:5, Interesting)
Basically, forcing the host to be a pass through of information or just to take it down. Effectively removing the host as a protector of the site. (I.e. "we just host it, you need to contact the webmaster" while the webmaster has no available contacts and is trying to remain anonymous.)
The operator does NOT need to show proof of anything other than that they are aware of the notice the host recieved and that they are contesting it. So "no, it's not a violation, put it back." is good enough.
At that point, the host is out of it and it's between the operator and the person or company that is complaining. Otherwise, you are asking the host to act as an agent of the court, or to BE the court.
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We have to yank until there has been a court ruling in favor of the site in question, 99.9% of the time.
Sometimes, upstream providers if they feel the DMCA complaint is foundless will allow it to stay on-line, but if the ruling goes the other way said upstream provider is then in the can to get sued for damages too, which h
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(Apparently they don't want to sign a DMCA "under penalty of perjury" notification, even though they'd only be certifying that they represent a client and that the client claims something or other - that's a pretty low standard there. But if they won't even sign that..)
Ean St Eane (Score:3, Funny)
I thought people would learn not to mess with Barney when he had Ean St Eane kneecapped.... Geez, I wouldn't want to get on his bad side.
Let's back up from this a bit.... (Score:5, Insightful)
seriously, isn't life a little too short for this?
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It is, until it's your speach than someone wants to stop.
Nothing wrong with a little censorship as long as I am the censor.
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I have nothing to say, really, except that your comment is absolutely on target. Kudos.
SB
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That should be "between copyright owners of a show, and a website that makes fun of the show."
People should be allowed to make fun of anything they please. The target should have every right to be enraged, of course, but they should have no right to lawsuit the said fun-makers out of existence, or even threaten with that. Both sides have thei
Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)
Barney Protected, Teletubbies Less So (Score:2, Insightful)
True Story (Score:5, Funny)
Would that be considered fair use?
Use (Score:2)
Whaaaa? (Score:2)
The EFF is fighting for mindshare and clout among American households. So...they...choose...to...sue...to...uphold...som
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I remember reading some Libertarian magazine (Reason) about Disney's war against the counter [reason.com]
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Barney, the beloved purple dinosaur, is a myth, or at least only true for a certain value of beloved.
Said saurian is essentially an oversized stuffed animal who delivers age-appropriate pablum to small children without any of the redeeming wit of a Sesame Street [youtube.com], which at least recognizes that parents often wind up parked in front of this stuff too, or at least exposed to it indirectly.
In short, beloved perhaps by children, but not so much by their elders.
beloved? (Score:2)
So...they...choose...to...sue...to...uphold...som
Funny, when Barney first came out I remember a lot of people making fun of him. I've only seen clips of him, but he's pretty annoying to anyone over the age of 8 or 9. Why do you think there's so many parody sights?
1st Amendment and Parody (Score:2, Informative)
I'm sure all the lawyers know this and were just trying to bully the website into closing, knowing they couldn't win a trial.
Weird Al is not the best example to mention (Score:1)
Weird Al is not the best one to mention. He always tries to get permission from the original songwriters. In instances where he did not get permission ("Amish Paradise"), there was a communication mix-up and Weird Al was under the false impression he had gotten permission.
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In the instance you pointed out ("Amish Paradise", I believe), lawsuits were never even mentioned. Just a pissed off rapper mouthing off. Is that redundant?
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http://grove.ufl.edu/~techlaw/vol9/issue1/collado. html [ufl.edu]
The difference is that parody has to specifically make fun of the original, whereas satire uses portions of the original to make fun of something else. "Smells Like Nirvana" is plainly parody. Most of the rest of his stuff's borderline. I'd argue that "Jurassic Park" primarily makes fun of the titular movie, rather than "Macarthur Park."
It's
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You mean people should call and ask permission like Weird Al does?
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You mean people should call and ask permission like Weird Al does?
Weird Al asks permission because he doesn't want to make any enemies, especially among the gangsta rappers. I don't know much about the music industry, but I'm guessing it's relatively small. If you start pissing off powerful people in it, you might not have a career for very long.
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He was asking permission long before there were "gangsta rappers"; Prince has always refused to grant permission, so he paradied his videos, because video images have much weaker protections. Parady is not a magic wand that protects everything you do in its name..
No it's not, but it's also very clear that what Weird Al does IS protected by fair use. It's probbably not a lot of fun being sued all the time, even though you know you'll win the suit.
They should settle it by ... (Score:2)
Hope the judge follows the precedence set by another federal judge, as he ordered here. [cnn.com]
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So it's an easy win for the EFF (hint: choose paper)! And the downside is...?
Speaking about the Antichrist angle... (Score:3, Interesting)
1. Barney is well-described with the following phrase:
CUTE PURPLE DINOSAUR
2. The old Latin alphabet used the letter 'V' in place of 'U', therefore the above phrase is modified to:
CVTE PVRPLE DINOSAVR
3. Letters that do not represent Roman numerals are removed:
CV-- -V--L- DI----V-
4. Add up the Roman numerals of the remaining letters:
C + V + V + L + D + I + V
100 + 5 + 5 + 50 + 500 + 1 + 5 = 666, which is the Number of the Beast.
5. Therefore, Barney is considered Satan.
HA! Because Numerology is TOTALY admisable in court!
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Back from the dead! (Score:2)
Barney as the antichrist (Score:2)
You've never had 4 toddlers on a saturday morning
Back off the gunwales, me hearty! (Score:1)
I know, I know, you just can't help it. But it's still a few weeks until the day [talklikeapirate.com]
The site in question (Score:3, Informative)
original site [dustyfeet.com]
site after complaint [dustyfeet.com]
Good 'ole Barny (Score:3, Funny)
Well, I guess the truth hurts.
Insane IP laws (Score:2)
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In Soviet Russia, the EFF sues you?
WTF?
Why isn't Satan suing? (Score:2, Funny)
BarneySplat! (Score:3, Interesting)
Someone should put that in a VMware image so everyone today can enjoy it.
Well, now ... (Score:3, Funny)
where's the beef? (Score:2)
This reeks of the pre-google days of the wwweb when traditional media monopolies were desperately trying to hang on to their feebe prescriptive worldview.
Why is Slashdot linking to this site and not to a genuine uncensored source?
IsueUUsueMe (Score:2)
Don't forget http://www.jihad.net/ [jihad.net]
And the story of a little boy destined to be the purple pedosaus greatest friend.
Brian Bull's Day of Barney
http://www.jihad.net/stories/nonjihad/dayofthebar
I think these sue happy troglodytes need a dose of despongification.
Only enough for it to be funny. (Score:2)
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Maybe you're not