NEWS
A US court has ruled that a play that shares similar features with former TV show Tree’s Company is a “transformative work” and is therefore protected against copyright claims. Playwright David Adjmi sought a declaratory
Three’s Company parody play is ‘transformative’, says US court Under US law, a work is considered
“transformative” if it comments on or ridicules the material it is based on. Te court added: “3C conjures up Tree’s way of
Company by
judgment from the US District Court for the Southern District of New York that his play 3C did not infringe the copyright of Tree’s Company, which belongs to media company DLT Entertainment. Three’s Company is a US television
sitcom that was first broadcast in June 1977 and ended in 1984. Starring John Ritter (pictured), the sitcom explored the issues of three single people living in one apartment in Santa Monica, California. 3C, which parodies Tree’s Company,
based on three characters in a similar setting, but Adjmi claimed the play was about the way in which Tree’s Company “presented and reinforced” stereotypes about gender, age and sexual orientation. Te New York court ruled on March 31 that
“despite the many similarities between the two works”, 3C is clearly “a transformative work”.
familiar character
elements, settings and plot themes, and uses them to turn Tree’s Company’s sunny 1970s Santa Monica into an upside-down dark version of itself.” Te play was first performed on June 6, 2012
at the Rattlestick Teater in New York. It ran until July 14 that year. Adjmi’s action followed a cease-and-desist
letter sent by DLT during the play’s run that requested the production be halted. DLT also demanded that Adjmi provide a
is
record of “all revenues derived from 3C”. Since the play has stopped running Adjmi
has sought to license the work to other theatres for further productions, prompting his request for a declaratory judgment. Donald Taffner, president of DLT, told WIPR:
“We are surprised and disappointed by the ruling and are reviewing our options.” Adjmi could not be reached for comment.
www.worldipreview.com
World Intellectual Property Review May/June 2015
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