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4 Ent. L. Rep. 1 (1983)

handle is hein.journals/enterml4 and id is 1 raw text is: tENlfitIINTA IIN /tN1[ I AWte 1U1Tt1U1UC11 Wttkon Pictures Trelevilkn Cadic Music Theater IPubdshlne Sports June 1, 1982 Volume 4, Number I In this issue: Federal Court of Appeals upholds jury award of $725,000 against CBS because of its unauthorized use of excerpts from Charlie C haplin film s ................................ 1 Parody of John Lennon and Paul McCartney song Revolution, which altered lyrics but not the music, infringed their joint copyright under Canadian law ......................... 2 T-shirt bootlegger is enjoined; Federal District Court denies First Amendment protection to vendor whose shirts bore news items about musical performers ............... 2 Athletic shoe manufacturer wins injunction prohibiting pro baseball and football players from doctoring' 'its shoes by affixing Nike's swoosh-stripe trademark .................... 3 Distribution of imitation Rubik's Cubes is enjoined; Rubik Cube's appearance and pack- aging are distinctive and protectible under the Lanham Act and unfair competition law ......... 3 Alleged participant in Chicago arson-for- profit scheme held entitled to pursue his invasion of privacy and right of publicity claims against ABC, Geraldo Rivera and producer of Newsmagazine 20/20 ........... 4 Mental patient's consent to filming is found invalid; damages to be assessed against CBS in action under New York Civil Rights Law ....... 4 Obscenity is not a defense to an action for copyright infringement, rules Federal Court of A ppeals ................................. 5 California does not require proof of obscenity beyond a reasonable doubt in a public nuisance abatement proceeding ............... 5 Agreement between horseracing sponsors to allocate racing dates did not violate antitrust laws. 6 Briefly Noted: Copyright, Music Publishing, Sports Injury and Pornography cases ........... 7 Book Note: Fictional Character and Real People . ... ........................... 7 In the Law Reviews ........................... 8 Educational Programs Calendar ............... 8 Lionel S. Sobel Editor Eileen L. Selsky Associate Editor Copyright c 1982 by the Entertainment Law Reporter Publishing Company. 9440 Santa Monica Blvd. Suite 600. Beverly Hills, CA 90210 Federal Court of Appeals upholds jury award of $725,000 against CBS because of its unauthorized use of excerpts from Charlie Chaplin films A jury award of approximately $725,000 in com- pensatory and punitive damages in favor of Roy Export Co. against CBS for statutory and common law copyright infringement and unfair competition has been affirmed by a Federal Court of Appeals in New York. (The unique factual background of the action was recounted in the report of the District Court's decision in ELR 3:3:1.) Roy Export, the holder of the copyrights in the films of Charlie Chap- lin, and of a common law copyright in a compilation of excerpts from the films, contended that CBS, with- out authorization, had used substantial portions of its compilation in a film biography of Chaplin which was broadcast on December 26, 1977. CBS argued a generalized First Amendment privi- lege as a bar to Roy's claims, asserting that it had a right to use the films that were the basis of Chaplin's fame in reporting on the newsworthy event of his death. The Roy compilation itself had been shown only once - on the occasion of the 1972 Academy Awards ceremony (broadcast on NBC) marking Chaplin's return to Hollywood after a 20-year exile. CBS stated that since the compilation was a part of the news event of the Awards ceremony, its news- reporting privilege entitled the network to use excerpts from the compilation in its 1977 obituary. The court found this argument unpersuasive, observing that No Circuit has ever held that the First Amendment provides a privilege in the copyright field distinct from the accommodation embodied in the 'fair use* doc- trine. And in this case, the showing of the film clips was not essential to CBS' report, because public domain films were available to illustrate Chaplin's career. The court also found that Roy's common law copy- right in the compilation was not terminated either b- the one-time license granted to the Academy o Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to broadcast the compilation during the 1972 Academy Awards cere- mony. or by the fact that the Academy had affixed a

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