KHIKS partner Jonathan Steinsapir was quoted by the Los Angeles Times in Ryan Faughnder’s article on the lawsuit filed by the parody filmmaker Between the Lines Productions against the producers of Twilight, the first offering in The Twilight Saga film series.
Between the Lines went to court against Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. and Summit Entertainment last week, alleging the Twilight creators interfered with its distribution deals via a cease-and-desist letter that scared-off the parody company’s suitors. Between the Lines says Twiharder, its spoof version, is protected under the “fair use” doctrine, an exception to the exclusive right granted to copyright owners that permits limited use by others of copyrighted material. Parodies in particular are often viewed by courts as protected fair use.
See Jonathan’s comments, which begin five paragraphs from the end (for counting purposes, note that the last paragraph is a single sentence).
