Naughty Parody pays
Not-so-nice music distrib loses copyright suit
Party on Parody Prods. agreed to settle the suit brought against it by the NMPA and several of its member publishers, paying them monetary damages and pulling the album from the retail racks.
Damage amounts were not disclosed, but the suit, originally filed last May, had requested statutory damages of at least $1 million, and/or $150,000 per work infringed. The publishers had also asked for unspecified punitive damages and attorney fees.
"This was an action that the copyright owners believe needed to be brought in order to clarify the limits of the fair use defense, because the defendant's unauthorized uses fell so unambiguously outside of the fair use doctrine," NMPA topper Edward Murphy said.
Party on Parody had asserted that the album was only a parody recording, an artistic form that has historically won strong protection from U.S. courts.
However, the publishers maintained that the songs are simply "unauthorized exploitations of plaintiffs' famous holiday songs for cynical commercial gain."
As part of the settlement, the defendant agreed to an injunction against the sale and distribution of the record, entered by district judge William Pauley. As of Friday afternoon, however, "Rated X Mas" was still available for sale at several online retailers, including Amazon.com and MySimon.com.
Plaintiffs in the suit included publishing giant Warner/Chappell Music, as well as Haven Gillespie Music Publishing and Jewel Music Publishing, representing such holiday staples as "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town," "Frosty the Snowman" and "Jingle Bell Rock."
