Fox News has filed a lawsuit against comedian Al Franken to prevent him from using the phrase "Fair and Balanced" in the title of his upcoming book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. Fox claims that Franken infringes on their trademark, filed in 1998. As the Washington Times notes,
Fox also complains that the cover of Franken's book closely resembles the cover of Fox News celebrity Bill O'Reilly's book The O'Reilly Factor.In its fair and balanced way, Fox News refers in its suit to Franken as an "unstable" and "shrill" "C-level commentator" who is "not a well-respected voice in American politics."
The attorneys do concede that Franken "achieved some renown as a comedy writer in the 1970s when he worked for the television program 'Saturday Night Live' " but add he since "has attempted to remake himself into a political commentator" and "is neither a journalist nor a television news personality." (Note the distinction being made between "journalist" and "television news personality.")
"His views lack any serious depth or insight," Fox News sniffed for good measure.
All of which suggests, of course, that Franken's book--his use of the term, the cover, etc.--are satirical looks at Fox News reporting tactics. Such parodies, of course, are part of the Fair Use provisions in US Copyright law and, as such, are protected forms of speech. Stanford's Fair Use site provides this definition
A parody is a work that ridicules another, usually well-known work, by imitating it in a comic way. Judges understand that by its nature, parody demands some taking from the original work being parodied. Unlike other forms of fair use, a fairly extensive use of the original work is permitted in a parody in order to "conjure up" the original.Franken undoubtedly will appreciate the irony of the lawsuit and get some comedic mileage from it. Posted by johndan at August 13, 2003 06:07 PM | TrackBack