Bourne Co. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.

602 F. Supp. 2d 499 (2009)

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Bourne Co. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
602 F. Supp. 2d 499 (2009)

Facts

Bourne Company (plaintiff) owned the copyright to a song—“When You Wish Upon a Star” (the Disney song)—used in the classic Walt Disney movie Pinocchio. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (Twentieth Century) and Seth MacFarlane (defendants) produced a comedic animated show called Family Guy (the show), and Walter Murphy (defendant) was the music composer for the show. In 2003, Twentieth Century aired an episode of the show that included a song—“I Need a Jew” (the Family Guy song)—composed by Murphy that purposefully sounded similar but not identical to the Disney song. The Family Guy song was sung by the show’s main character, Peter, and the lyrics were about Peter needing a Jew to help him with his finances, thus perpetuating the stereotype that Jews are financially adept. In 2007, Bourne filed suit for copyright infringement. Twentieth Century asserted a fair-use defense, arguing that their use of the Disney song was a parody because the Family Guy song (1) commented on the childish and simplistic worldview presented by the Disney song and (2) criticized Walt Disney’s alleged anti-Semitism. However, Bourne argued that the Family Guy song merely mocked anti-Semitism and Jewish stereotypes in general and did not comment on or criticize the Disney song in any way.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Batts, J.)

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