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<B><I>Decision of Note</b></i>'Daily Show' Wins Dispute on Fair Use
A Manhattan federal district court decided that the airing of an unlicensed clip from a public access TV show to introduce a segment on Comedy Central's “The Daily Show” constituted fair use under copyright law. Kane v. Comedy Partners, 00-158. The “Daily Show” segment at issue opened with a one-second, full-screen shot of the plaintiff ' comedienne/stripper Sandy Kane ' dancing in a bikini. The title of “The Sandy Kane T.V. Show” is visible in the background. The clip is then further shown briefly as part of a video collage. A shorter clip of Sandy Kane's show is used in a commercial promoting “The Daily Show.”
Granting summary judgment for the defendants, the district court noted that the “Daily Show” use was not a parody, but added: “The only significance of deeming a work a parody is the concomitant determination that the work contains elements of commentary and criticism. … By airing plaintiff's clip in a segment called 'Public Excess' and adding some derisive commentary, defendants unquestionably used [the plaintiff's] material for the purpose of criticism.” The court also emphasized that the defendants used “only one-tenth of one percent” of Kane's half-hour show.
The court went on to rule in favor of the defendant on Kane's federal trademark infringement claim under the Lanham Act and on her state law claims for unfair competition, false advertising, deceptive business practices, trademark dilution, defamation and violation of right of privacy.
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