WB, MGM, Showtime Deny Barbershop Copyright Infringement Claim
The Gospel stage play Scissors shares no substantial similarities with the Barbershop movie franchise and the Showtime TV series based on it, said WB Studio Enterprises, MGM Studios and Showtime Networks in a motion to dismiss (in Pacer) filed Tuesday…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Scissors revolves around issues of faith and modern societal issues, but "Barbershop, in stark contrast, has nothing to do with religion at all and it does not address any of the issues threading each of Scissors' plotlines," WB and the others said. Plaintiff playwright Ronald Dickerson "cannot claim an exclusive monopoly on creative works set in a barbershop," they said, saying minus that setting the only remaining similarities are stock plot devices and character elements, which themselves don't warrant protection under copyright law. Dickerson, in his copyright infringement complaint (in Pacer) filed earlier this year, said the films contained numerous instances that "seem to be lifted directly from events in Scissors" and sought $20 million in damages.