Partner Tom Ferber Speaks to Law 360 About Faulkner Estate Copyright Suit Against Makers of Woody Allen Film “Midnight In Paris”
Pryor Cashman Senior Litigation Partner Tom Ferber was interviewed by Law 360 for its October 26, 2012 article “‘Midnight In Paris’ Faulkner Quote Suit Just Sound And Fury.” The article discusses the move by the estate of William Faulkner to initiate a copyright suit against the makers of the 2011 Woody Allen film, Midnight In Paris.
The suit claims filmmakers infringed the estate’s copyright by paraphrasing the famous line by Faulkner, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past,” in one of its scenes. As a result, the suit alleges that the scene in question is likely to confuse viewers into believing the Faulkner estate is affiliated with the movie. According to Law 360, the estate of William Faulkner appears to be breaking new legal ground by suing the makers of the film since limited legal precedent supports the idea that such use could infringe copyright.
According to Ferber, the lines in this case, are “worked into the storyline of a completely creative work, which is transformative,” and the use of only two lines from a full-length novel appears to weigh heavily in favor of the filmmakers. “No reasonable person is going to believe that this use is going to hurt the market of the novel the lines come from,” he said.
To read the article in its entirety, please click here.
