Binney & Smith Threaten Humor E-Zine Comedyzine With Parody Lawsuit

This was originally posted on the alt.zines newsgroup. It seems to me that the Suess v. Penguin Books decision might not bode well for comedyzine.com -- though I doubt if Binney & Smith will actually go so far as to file a complaint. I like the fact that comedyzine.com was astute enough not recoil in fear upon receiving a demand letter (I find their response to Binney & Smith amusing, in light of B&S's somewhat preposterous claims of defamation and unfair competition.)

Michael Juhre
<michael.juhre[_at_]aig.com>

> -----Original Message-----
> From: kowall[_at_]my-deja.com [SMTP:kowall[_at_]my-deja.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 1999 11:35 AM
> Subject: BINNEY & SMITH THREATEN HUMOR E-ZINE COMEDYZINE WITH LAWSUIT
> OVER PARODY
>
> BINNEY & SMITH THREATEN HUMOR E-ZINE COMEDYZINE WITH LAWSUIT OVER PARODY
>
> Binney & Smith Properties, a wholly owned subsidiary of Binney & Smith
> and part of the corporate umbrella of Hallmark has threatened legal
> action against Comedyzine, a humor and satire site on the world-wide
> web. Binney & Smith, makers of Crayola, claim trademark infringement,
> defamation and unfair business practices against the humor site.
> Comedyzine frequently does parodies on corporations. Past parodies
> have included Disney, Texaco, Ben & Jerry's, and Campbell's.
>
> The parody titled "Politically Incorrect Crayons" features Ebonics,
> Militia, Gay and Trailer Park crayon sets.
>
> Comedyzine is in no way causing "defamation and unfair business
> practices" nor are we doing anything that constitutes trademark
> infringement. Under the of the Copyright Act 107 we are allowed fair
> use in parodies. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that
> parody may claim fair use under 107 of the Copyright Act. In Campbell
> v. Acuff-Rose Music, 510 U.S. 569, Justice Souter delivered the opinion
> of the Court, stating, "Suffice it to say now that parody has an
> obvious claim to transformative value, as Acuff Rose itself does not
> deny. Like less ostensibly humorous forms of criticism, it can provide
> social benefit, by shedding light on an earlier work, and, in the
> process, creating a new one. We thus line up with the courts that have
> held that parody, like other comment or criticism, may claim fair use
> under 107."
>
>
> Comedyzine is located on the world-wide web at http://www.comedyzine.com
>
> To view letter from Binney & Smith's counsel, ComedyZine's reply
> and "Politically Incorrect Crayons" go to
> http://www.comedyzine.com/pressrelease.shtml
>
>
> Protect freedom of speech.
>
>
>
> Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
> Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
Received on Mon Jun 28 1999 - 14:49:01 GMT