Take Me Out to the Courthouse · Who Owns the Game?
Who Owns the Routine?
TCA Television Corp. v. McCollum (2016)
Charge: Copyright infringement for using a classic baseball comedy routine in a play (suit against the play's producers)Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second CircuitDocket: Who Owns the Game?
Could the heirs stop a play from using the famous routine?
The facts
Heirs of a famous comedy duo claimed rights in the pair's classic baseball routine full of confusing player names. A dark Broadway comedy had a character perform about a minute of the routine using a sock puppet. The heirs sued the playwright and producers for copyright infringement. The producers argued the use was fair use because the play put the routine in a new context, and also questioned whether the heirs owned a valid copyright at all.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: TCA Television Corp. v. McCollum, 839 F.3d 168 (2d Cir. 2016)
Read more at copyright.gov. The source reveals the outcome.