Bourne Co. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation et al Featured Case

Plaintiff Bourne Co. alleged that defendants infringed plaintiff's copyright interests in the song "When You Wish Upon a Star." Defendants allegedly created an episode of "The Family Guy" titled "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein" that included a song "I Need a Jew." The song coupled anti-Semitic lyrics with plaintiff's song.

Plaintiff: Bourne Co.
Defendant: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Fox Broadcasting Company, Twentieth Century Fox Television, Inc., Twentieth Centruy Fox Home Entertainment, Inc., Fuzzy Door Productions, Inc., The Cartoon Network, Inc., Seth McFarlane and Walter Murphy
Case Number: 1:2007cv08580
Filed: October 3, 2007
Court: US District Court for the Southern District of New York
Office: Foley Square Office
County: New York
Presiding Judge: Deborah A. Batts
Nature of Suit: Copyright
Cause of Action: 17 U.S.C. § 101 Copyright Infringement
Jury Demanded By: Plaintiff
Docket Report

This docket was last retrieved on May 29, 2019. A more recent docket listing may be available from PACER.

Date Filed Document Text
May 4, 2009 Filing 50 STIPULATION IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED that defendants motion for attorneys fees and costs filed on March 30, 2009 is hereby withdrawn with prejudice. (Signed by Judge Deborah A. Batts on 5/4/09) (mme)
April 13, 2009 Filing 49 STIPULATION, re defendants motionfor attorneys' fees and costs: plaintiff shall file its opposition on or before 4/27/09 and defendants shall file their reply brief, if any, on or before 5/4/09. ( Reply due by 5/4/2009. Response due by 4/27/2009) (Signed by Judge Deborah A. Batts on 4/13/09) (cd)
March 30, 2009 Filing 48 DECLARATION of Jonathan Zavin in Support re: 46 MOTION for Attorney Fees.. Document filed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A: Bill of Costs, # 2 Exhibit B: Excerpts from Deposition Transcript of Jeremiah Horan, # 3 Exhibit C: Exceprts from Deposition Transcript of Karyn Soroka, # 4 Exhibit D: Excerpts from Deposition Transcript of Sandra Wilbur)(Strauss, Jonathan)
March 30, 2009 Filing 47 MEMORANDUM OF LAW in Support re: 46 MOTION for Attorney Fees.. Document filed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. (Strauss, Jonathan)
March 30, 2009 Filing 46 MOTION for Attorney Fees. Document filed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.(Strauss, Jonathan)
March 17, 2009 Filing 45 CLERK'S JUDGMENT That for the reasons stated in the Court's Memorandum and Order dated March 16, 2009, defendants' motion for summary judgment is granted and plaintiff's cross-motion for summary judgment is denied; accordingly, the case is closed. (Signed by J. Michael McMahon, clerk on 3/17/09) (Attachments: # 1 notice of right to appeal)(ml)
March 16, 2009 Opinion or Order Filing 44 MEMORANDUM AND ORDER For the reasons set forth in this order, Defendants motion for summary judgment is Granted. Plaintiffs cross-motion for summary judgment is denied. The Clerk of the Court is directed to terminate all pending motions and close the docket in this case.. (Signed by Judge Deborah A. Batts on 3/16/09) (mme)
March 16, 2009 Transmission to Judgments and Orders Clerk. Transmitted re: 44 Order on Motion for Summary Judgment,,,, to the Judgments and Orders Clerk. (mme)
June 11, 2008 Filing 43 AMENDED REPLY MEMORANDUM OF LAW in Support re: 16 MOTION for Summary Judgment., 28 MOTION for Summary Judgment.. Document filed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. (Rimokh, Jacques)
June 10, 2008 Filing 42 ENDORSED LETTER addressed to Judge Deborah A. Batts from Paul M. Fakler dated 6/5/08 re: Plaintiff request the Courts permission to file a standard, ten-page reply brief in support of Plaintiffs cross-motion for summary judgment. ENDORSEMENT: Denied. (Signed by Judge Deborah A. Batts on 6/10/08) (pl)
June 4, 2008 Filing 41 REPLY MEMORANDUM OF LAW in Support re: 16 MOTION for Summary Judgment., 28 MOTION for Summary Judgment.. Document filed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. (Attachments: # 1 Opinion in Lennon, et al. v. Premise Media Corp, L.P., et al., dated 6/2/08)(Rimokh, Jacques)
June 4, 2008 Filing 40 COUNTER STATEMENT TO 35 Rule 56.1 Statement. Document filed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. (Rimokh, Jacques)
June 4, 2008 Filing 39 DECLARATION of Lawrence Ferrara, Ph.D. in Support re: 16 MOTION for Summary Judgment., 28 MOTION for Summary Judgment.. Document filed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. (Rimokh, Jacques)
June 4, 2008 Filing 38 DECLARATION of Jacques Rimokh in Support re: 16 MOTION for Summary Judgment., 28 MOTION for Summary Judgment.. Document filed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A: Plaintiffs Responses and Objections to Defendant Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporations First Request for the Production of Documents, dated 2/22/08, # 2 Exhibit B: Excerpts from Deposition Transcript of Ricky Blitt, # 3 Exhibit C: Excerpts from Deposition Transcript of Lawrence Ferrara, # 4 Exhibit D: Excerpts from Deposition Transcript of Jeremiah Horan (Portions Filed Under Seal), # 5 Exhibit E: Excerpts from Deposition Transcript of Michael Nichols Lazzo, # 6 Exhibit F: Excerpts from Deposition Transcript of Seth MacFarlane, # 7 Exhibit G: Excerpts from Deposition Transcript of Walter Murphy, # 8 Exhibit H: Excerpts from Deposition Transcript of Linda Shima-Tsuno, # 9 Exhibit I: Excerpts from Deposition Transcript of Lianne Siegal Shattuck, # 10 Exhibit J: Excerpts from Deposition Transcript of Karyn Soroka, # 11 Exhibit K: Excerpts from Deposition Transcript of Teresa Tingle-Heppner, # 12 Exhibit L: Excerpts from Deposition Transcript of Sandra Wilbur, # 13 Exhibit M: Excerpts from Deposition Transcript of David Zuckerman, # 14 Exhibit N: Excerpts from Deposition Transcript of Scott Grodin, # 15 Exhibit O: Excerpt from The Walt Disney Company's official website. The Walt Disney Family Museum, The Golden Age of Animation, http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/exhibits/articles/goldenage/ (last visited May 31, 2008) ([T]he music in Pinocchio was)(Rimokh, Jacques)
May 23, 2008 Filing 37 DECLARATION of Sandy Wilbur. Document filed by Bourne Co.. (djc)
May 23, 2008 Filing 35 RULE 56.1 STATEMENT. Document filed by Bourne Co.. (Fakler, Paul)
May 23, 2008 Filing 34 DECLARATION of Paul M. Fakler in Support re: 28 MOTION for Summary Judgment.. Document filed by Bourne Co.. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit Exhibit D, # 5 Exhibit Exhibits E-G, # 6 Exhibit Exhibit H, # 7 Exhibit Exhibit I, # 8 Exhibit Exhibits J-K, # 9 Exhibit Exhibits L-M, # 10 Exhibit Exhibits N-O)(Fakler, Paul)
May 23, 2008 Filing 33 DECLARATION of Sandy Wilbur in Support re: 28 MOTION for Summary Judgment.. Document filed by Bourne Co.. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Exhibits A-G, # 2 Exhibit Exhibits H-M)(Fakler, Paul)
May 23, 2008 Filing 32 DECLARATION of Marco Berrocal in Support re: 28 MOTION for Summary Judgment.. Document filed by Bourne Co.. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Exhibits A-C, # 2 Exhibit Exhibits D-E, # 3 Exhibit Exhibit F, # 4 Exhibit Exhibit G-H)(Fakler, Paul)
May 23, 2008 Filing 31 DECLARATION of Karyn Soroka in Support re: 28 MOTION for Summary Judgment.. Document filed by Bourne Co.. (Fakler, Paul)
May 23, 2008 Filing 30 DECLARATION of Jeremiah Horan in Support re: 28 MOTION for Summary Judgment.. Document filed by Bourne Co.. (Fakler, Paul)
May 23, 2008 Filing 29 MEMORANDUM OF LAW in Support re: 28 MOTION for Summary Judgment. ON Liability and in Opposition to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment on Fair Use. Document filed by Bourne Co.. (Fakler, Paul)
May 23, 2008 Filing 28 MOTION for Summary Judgment. Document filed by Bourne Co.. Responses due by 6/4/2008(Fakler, Paul)
May 22, 2008 Opinion or Order Filing 27 STIPULATION AND ORDER GOVERNING THE PRODUCTION OF CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS AND INFORMATION...regarding procedures to be followed that shall govern the handling of confidential material.... (Signed by Judge Deborah A. Batts on 5/22/08) (tro)
May 22, 2008 Filing 26 ENDORSED LETTER addressed to Judge Deborah A. Batts from The Law Firm of Moses & Singer, LLP dated 5/21/08 re: Counsel for Plaintiff ask that the Court allow Plaintiff to file a handful of documents designated as confidential by Defendants without the need to file under seal. ENDORSEMENT: DENIED. (Signed by Judge Deborah A. Batts on 5/22/08) (tro)
May 20, 2008 Opinion or Order Filing 25 ENDORSED LETTER addressed to Judge Deborah A. Batts from Julie Stark dated 5/20/2008 re: Counsel writes requesting permission to hand file a hard copy set of the exhibit, including the CD. ENDORSEMENT: SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Deborah A. Batts on 5/20/2008) (tve)
April 30, 2008 Filing 24 ENDORSED LETTER addressed to Judge Deborah A. Batts from Paul Fakler dated 4/29/08 re: Request for a 25 to 40 page extension for plaintiff's combined memorandum in opposition to defendants' motion for summary judgment/cross motion for summary judgment and that defendants have 10-25 page for their reply brief. ENDORSEMENT: So ordered. (Signed by Judge Deborah A. Batts on 4/30/08) (cd)
April 18, 2008 Filing 23 DECLARATION of Lawrence Ferrara in Support re: 16 MOTION for Summary Judgment.. Document filed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A: Curriculum Vitae, # 2 Exhibit B: Report dated 2/26/08)(Zavin, Jonathan)
April 18, 2008 Filing 22 DECLARATION of Ricky Blitt in Support re: 16 MOTION for Summary Judgment.. Document filed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. (Zavin, Jonathan)
April 18, 2008 Filing 21 DECLARATION of David Zuckerman in Support re: 16 MOTION for Summary Judgment.. Document filed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. (Zavin, Jonathan)
April 18, 2008 Filing 20 DECLARATION of Seth MacFarlane in Support re: 16 MOTION for Summary Judgment.. Document filed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A: DVD of Family Guy Episode When You Wish Upon a Weinstein, # 2 Exhibit B: DVD of Walt Disneys Pinocchio, # 3 Exhibit C: Video Screen Captures of Family Guy Episode When You Wish Upon a Weinstein, # 4 Exhibit D: DVD of Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, # 5 Exhibit E: DVD of Clip of Walt Disney from Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story)(Zavin, Jonathan)
April 18, 2008 Filing 19 DECLARATION of Jacques Rimokh in Support re: 16 MOTION for Summary Judgment.. Document filed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A: Plaintiffs Responses to Defendant Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporations First Request for Admissions dated 2/27/08, # 2 Exhibit B: Excerpt from Book Entitled Walt Disney The Triumph of The American Imagination, # 3 Exhibit C: Excerpt from Book Entitled Walt Disney Hollywoods Dark Prince, # 4 Exhibit D: Internet Article Entitled Was Walt Disney a Fascist?, # 5 Exhibit E: Excerpt from Plaintiffs Deposition Transcript dated 2/29/08, # 6 Exhibit F: Excerpt from Deposition Transcript of Sandra Wilbur dated 3/19/08, # 7 Exhibit G: Excerpt from Deposition Transcript of Karyn Soroka dated 3/4/08)(Zavin, Jonathan)
April 18, 2008 Filing 18 RULE 56.1 STATEMENT. Document filed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. (Zavin, Jonathan)
April 18, 2008 Filing 17 MEMORANDUM OF LAW in Support re: 16 MOTION for Summary Judgment.. Document filed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. (Zavin, Jonathan)
April 18, 2008 Filing 16 MOTION for Summary Judgment. Document filed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Responses due by 5/23/2008(Zavin, Jonathan)
April 7, 2008 Filing 15 ENDORSED LETTER addressed to Judge Deborah A. Batts from Jacques Rimokh dated 4/1/08 re: Counsel for Defendants request that the deadline for service of reply papers on the summary judgment motion be adjourned three business (3) days to Wednesday, June 4, 2008. ENDORSEMENT: GRANTED. (Signed by Judge Deborah A. Batts on 4/7/08) (tro)
January 18, 2008 Opinion or Order Filing 14 SCHEDULING ORDER: Liability discovery, except for good cause explicitly set forth by letter and shown, all discovery, including expert discovery shall be commenced in time to be completed by 3/17/08. A party contemplating making a dispositive motion must notify opposing counsel by 4/18/08. Defendants' to file summary judgment motion 4/18/08; plaintiffs to respond 5/23/08; defendants to reply 5/30/08. Plaintiffs may seek to reply to defendants response to plaintiffs cross motion made in their response. If Court agrees it would be helpful to case Court will grant request. Estimated trial time is 4 days. Jury trial. (Signed by Judge Deborah A. Batts on 1/18/08) (dle)
January 17, 2008 Filing 13 REPORT of Rule 26(f) Planning Meeting.(Zavin, Jonathan)
January 2, 2008 Filing 12 ENDORSED LETTER addressed to Judge Deborah A. Batts from Jonathan Zavin dated 12/21/07 re: counsel for defendant requests a two week adjournment of the initial conference. ENDORSEMENT: Rule 16 Conference re-scheduled for 1/18/08 at 11:30 a.m. Rule 26(f) Conference to take place before 1/18/08. (Signed by Judge Deborah A. Batts on 1/2/08) (dle)
November 19, 2007 Filing 11 RULE 7.1 CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT. Identifying Fox Entertainment Group, Inc. News Corp. Liberty Media Corporation Fuzzy Door Productions, Inc. TEN Network Holding, Inc. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Time Warner, Inc. as Corporate Parent. Document filed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.(Rimokh, Jacques) Modified on 11/20/2007 (Rodriguez, Tiffany).
November 19, 2007 Filing 10 ANSWER to Complaint. Document filed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.(Rimokh, Jacques)
October 19, 2007 Filing 9 SUMMONS RETURNED EXECUTED. The Cartoon Network, Inc. served on 10/16/2007, answer due 11/5/2007. Service was accepted by Michelle Martin At CT Corporation System, as Registered Agent. Document filed by Bourne Co.. (Fakler, Paul)
October 12, 2007 Filing 8 AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE. Fuzzy Door Productions, Inc. served on 10/5/2007, answer due 10/25/2007. Service was accepted by Todd Connors. Document filed by Bourne Co.. (Fakler, Paul)
October 12, 2007 Filing 7 AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE. Twentieth Centruy Fox Home Entertainment, Inc. served on 10/5/2007, answer due 10/25/2007. Service was accepted by Patrick T. Gilham, Senior Paralegal. Document filed by Bourne Co.. (Fakler, Paul)
October 12, 2007 Filing 6 AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation served on 10/5/2007, answer due 10/25/2007. Service was accepted by Patrick T. Gilham, Senior Paralegal. Document filed by Bourne Co.. (Fakler, Paul)
October 12, 2007 Filing 5 AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE. Fox Broadcasting Company served on 10/5/2007, answer due 10/25/2007. Service was accepted by Patrick T. Gilham, Senior Paralegal. Document filed by Bourne Co.. (Fakler, Paul)
October 10, 2007 Filing 4 SUMMONS RETURNED EXECUTED. The Cartoon Network, Inc. served on 10/4/2007, answer due 10/24/2007. Service was accepted by Stephanie Reese at National Registered Agents, Registered Agents for The Cartoon Network, Inc.. Document filed by Bourne Co.. (Fakler, Paul)
October 8, 2007 Filing 3 NOTICE OF APPEARANCE by Paul Matthew Fakler on behalf of Bourne Co. (Fakler, Paul)
October 3, 2007 Filing 2 RULE 7.1 CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT. No Corporate Parent. Document filed by Bourne Co.(laq)
October 3, 2007 Filing 1 COMPLAINT against Fuzzy Door Productions, Inc., The Cartoon Network, Inc., Seth McFarlane, Walter Murphy, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Fox Broadcasting Company, Twentieth Century Fox Television, Inc., Twentieth Centruy Fox Home Entertainment, Inc. (Filing Fee $ 350.00, Receipt Number 628623)Document filed by Bourne Co.(laq)
October 3, 2007 SUMMONS ISSUED as to Fuzzy Door Productions, Inc., The Cartoon Network, Inc., Seth McFarlane, Walter Murphy, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Fox Broadcasting Company, Twentieth Century Fox Television, Inc., Twentieth Centruy Fox Home Entertainment, Inc. (laq)
October 3, 2007 Magistrate Judge Henry B. Pitman is so designated. (laq)
October 3, 2007 Case Designated ECF. (laq)

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Search for this case: Bourne Co. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation et al
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Plaintiff: Bourne Co.
Represented By: Julie Stark
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Defendant: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Represented By: Jacques M. Rimokh
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Defendant: Fox Broadcasting Company
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Defendant: Twentieth Century Fox Television, Inc.
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Defendant: Twentieth Centruy Fox Home Entertainment, Inc.
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Defendant: Fuzzy Door Productions, Inc.
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Defendant: The Cartoon Network, Inc.
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Defendant: Seth McFarlane
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Defendant: Walter Murphy
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