Two days left! Support our fundraiser by January 5th and 
Family Guy Song Didn't Infringe On Pinocchio Song
from the when-you-wish-upon-a-star... dept
It’s another victory for fair use, as a judge has sided with the producers of the animated series Family Guy in a lawsuit over whether the song When You Wish Upon A Star was infringed by a parody song. The judge sided with Family Guy, noting that the song was used for humorous intent, and the “wholesome” association between the original and the movie Pinocchio made the song ripe for parody. This isn’t the first time Family Guy has won lawsuits from people who are apparently unaware of the legal acceptance of parody… Somehow, it’s unlikely to be the last time either.
Filed Under: fair use, family guy
Comments on “Family Guy Song Didn't Infringe On Pinocchio Song”
C'Mon Disney
::Rolls eyes and smacks Disney in the face::
C’mon guys, don’t be stupid.
Re: C'Mon Disney
Actually, it doesn’t belong to Disney, much to their chagrin. In terms of Disney-associated themes, it’s “the one that got away”…
Re: Re: C'Mon Disney
Actually, “Whe You Wish Upon a Star” IS owned by the Disney Corporation. THAT’s why it’s Disney trademarked anthem and opens each film made.
Satire is the best form of liable…err…i mean-Flattery 😉
Title?
Aww, Mike, you didn’t tell us the name of the song in question. For those who are wondering, it was “When you wish upon a Jew”
Wasn’t that song in one of the “banned” episodes anyway? Sheesh…is Disney hard-up for money, too?
Victory?
Hardly a victory. All this means is that corporations with deep enough pockets to afford good lawyers (i.e. Fox) can utilize their fair use rights. The rest must either comply with cease-and-desist letters or lose their life savings fighting it in court.
Obvious
They need some sort of obvious test for this type of crap. If it is obvious that Disney should not have filed, they should be fined 10xs the amount in damages that they would have claimed and forced to pay that to to several different non-profit charities.
Re: Obvious
There is. It’s called a “frivolous lawsuit.” Clearly, this was, but it may not have been declared on by the judge. I think, in this case, the plaintiff party (not Disney, actually) should have to pay all legal fees with interest, plus reimburse the defendant for their time, and pay for any damages. Damages, for an individual, could be time missed from work or business, lost employment, etc. Not sure if it would apply to a corporation. These kinds of bully lawsuits need to be checked. Hard.
Boy, if Disney was mad about that I sure hope they didn’t watch “South Park” last week.
Re: Re:
This is exactly what I thought when I watched that episode. I smell a lawsuit brewin….
blah
you guys need to keep up, it’s already been stated that disney do not own the song, therefore they did not sue, the owner of the song did.
Re: blah
This is exactly what I thought when I watched that episode. I smell a lawsuit brewin….
Hysterical
As a jewish person, I have to say that this is one of the funniest of the Family Guys ever. I almost crapped my pants when I heard this song. For those of us with no sense of humor, GROW UP!
This was parody at its best! Thank you Family Guy for again going where others (except South Park) are too chicken feces to go!
Seth McFarland = Win.
Re:
Seth MacFarland = Win
The guy deserves to have his name spelled right : )
Re: Re: unless
…unless the mis-spelling was parody.
Pinnochio song
Right on, Michael, though IMO, the real problem is the ridiculous times allowed for copyright (though you can sort of understand; politicians depend on campaign funds, and therefore have to sell their souls to big business or get out of politics).
If we had campaign finance reform, I’ll bet one change would be shortening the length of time for a copyright; say, to 10 – 20 years; and there goes the copyright involved!