A Los Angeles judge waxed nostalgic about the “self-imposed restraint” of “old media,” but still found that a “new media” parody of Carol Burnett's “Charwoman” character was protected from the star's copyright suit.

Burnett objected to an 18-second segment on Fox's animated show “The Family Guy” which portrayed her Charwoman mopping the floor of a porn shop accompanied by a version of the theme music from “The Carol Burnett Show.” She sued Fox in March for copyright infringement and violation of publicity rights.

Ruling on Fox's motion to dismiss, U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson described Burnett as “an icon in American culture” and recognized “how distasteful and offensive the segment is to Ms. Burnett.”

“To some extent this dispute is indicative of how far the 'new media' has come from the 'old media,'” he said, recalling wistfully that “crude jokes and insensitive, often mean-spirited, programming” used to be confined to live nightclub performances. “In the new media, any self-imposed restraint essentially has been eliminated.”

Nevertheless, the judge dismissed the case, concluding in his order that “the law, as it must in an open society, provides broad protection for the defendant's segment.”

The First Amendment protects a parody as long as it takes “no more from the original than necessary to accomplish reasonably.” A FindLaw columnist thought Fox might have gone too far by using Burnett's name in dialogue, depicting “Charwoman” in her “trademark blue bonnet,” and using the theme music.

“Burnett may be able to persuade a judge that 'The Family Guy' borrowed more than it had to,” Julie Hilden speculated.

But Pregerson found that argument “unpersuasive ... Here, Family Guy takes just enough of the imagery and accompanying theme music to make this crude depiction of the Charwoman character 'recognizable' to viewers.”

In her complaint, Burnett alleged that Fox had the “Peterotica” episode of “The Family Guy” rewritten to disparage her after she refused permission for the show to use her theme music. Pregerson's ruling does not address that allegation.

“As Ms. Burnett well knows, it takes far more creative talent to create a character such as 'Charwoman' than to use such characters in a crude parody,” Pregerson sympathized. “Perhaps Ms. Burnett can take solace in that fact.”

The owners of the rights to “Barney” recently dropped a suit over an online parody of the children's TV character. A case involving a Kanye West music video parody of an Evel Knievel stunt is pending in Florida.

By Matthew Heller
6/7/07