November 16th, 2010
03:42 PM ET
'South Park' sued over viral videoJust a few weeks after apologizing for lifting lines from a parody of "Inception," the producers of "South Park," along with Comedy Central and parent company Viacom, have been sued for allegedly infringing on the copyright of the YouTube viral video "What What (in the Butt)," according to The Hollywood Reporter. In a 2008 episode of the series, Butters appeared in a music video that, according to the lawsuit filed by Brownmark Films, is a "nearly frame-by-frame recreation" of the original video, which became a viral sensation in 2007 and since then has had over 33,000,000 page views. Comedy Central released a statement describing the "South Park" segment as a parody and saying that it's "fully protected against any copyright infringement claims under the fair-use doctrine and the First Amendment and we plan to vigorously defend those rights."
Not mentioned anywhere in the lawsuit (which was posted up on E! Online) is Samwell, the artist who became a YouTube celebrity a few years back, and even poked fun at himself on another hit Comedy Central series, "Tosh.0." What do you think? Did "South Park" infringe on a copyright, or do you agree with Comedy Central's view, that any form of parody should be protected?
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Ppl have nothing better to do with their time and when it comes to South Park any and everything is fair game get over yourself and off the high horse seriously
i mean come on rlly there just trying to make a dime without work
Freedom of Speech is something that our Founding Fathers fought for. Some of us Americans need to understand this.
Might be surprised by a court! Nothing slam-dunk in law.
Lots of judges making legislation by the court. Also, too many comics making their dime just COPYING orig. Work and using the 'parody" defense. Might see the courts say that has become too broad an umbrella.
Yep, have taken Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks from a $700/hour atty.
I really think it was about time south park got sued because they produce too much intolerable stuff that minors are always watching
This comment reflects my opinion of what our Founding Fathers fought for. Our right of Freedom of Speech. As long as expressing that Freedom does not cause defimation or injury, then all should be well.
Sueing SP&CC is stupid! & its getting really old. It's safe to say that everybody is on South Park & Comedy Centrals's side. I love south park & I"ll keep watching it forever!
Brown, get a sense of humour! If anything, SP made clearly-not-your video very popular. So, you can thank them by paying their legal fees. I hope you get sanctioned for bringing a frivolous lawsuit and wasting the court's time.
I could of swore Samuel told Daniel Tosh that he gave South Park permission
South park uses many skit just because YouTube gets their panties twisted and thinkin they can make a easy dollar. I stand behind south park 100% it didn't hurt anyone y can't people get on with their own lives
I wish south park the best of luck. we love da shows
Whatever.however
No, of course not. This is some person or company that probably needs the money. If anything, the episode helped them gain more popularity. LAME!!!!!!!
If the video creator doesn't care whats the big deal, its YouTube you put yourself on there so its out there for everyone to see and use....
Hell no.... its corporate greed at its worst
They helped YouTube and yet are getting sued by them? Helped as in created more attention and fan base... I would of never known about the YouTube vid if not for southpark.. it was hilarious
I need some money!Who can I sue?Can some body get me some fish-sticks?
I need some money!Who can I sue?Can some body get me some fish-stcks?
I think they need to leave south park alone. I don't think they did anything wrong.
This is just another frivolous law suit. Why is this even considered relevant enough to be considered news? Stories like these are equivalent to the what panties Lindsey Lohan wore in court today segments on tabloid tv and the E channel. The publicity this crap receives makes these kind of suits viable for people so please people ignore this nonsense and focus on something worth while so these suits and journalists will disappear.
This is funny. can't believe 'southpark' is actually getting sued for this crap. might as well sue every show that makes fun of something like practically all of them.
LMAO! No life much?? Dang Its funny sooo wat?! Grow up man!
Come on now...people will do anything for a dollar these days. but this case wont last a day in the court room.
Any parody should be protected! They put the notice and the beginning of South Park anyway. So is every "youtube" video that ever pardoy's anything going to get sued now?
Martin went home to his wife
Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb
And showed her pages from the Book of Mormon
Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb
Lucy Harris smart smart smart
Smart smart smart smart smart
Martin Harris dumb dadumb
LMAO!!!!
If that video was from 3 years ago...can you imagine how reamed out that f a g's bu t thole is NOW? Jeeeez! What a goo-gobbler!
South Park is still on the air? It stopped being funny about five years ago.
South park what made the video huge anyways. it a video about a guy who wants it up the but do yall really want to fight about it
South park what made the video huge anyways. it a video about a guy who wants it up the but do hyall really want to fight about it
I find it amazing that anyone is actually devoting time to protecting the rights of something as stupid and useless as 'What What". Maybe Mike Judge should sue Samwell for recreating the decline of intelligence and taste as depicted in the movie "Idiocracy". Samwell should thank Stone & Parker.
So glad it took them 2 years to decide to sue.... Anyone should be happy to be made fun of by South Park, the show is internationally popular
This is definitely a parody that is protected under law. I just wonder why they waited so long to file this suit. Sounds like a blatant try for some money to me.
I say if Comedy Central is so about protecting the 1st amendment right then why did they tuck their balls away during the Mohammed episodes and censor it?
Parody fun is just that and cannot be victimized by these huge organizations. If the parody ruins the original production and causes people not to pay to see it, then it should be held responsible. It generally causes intrigue and more people pay to see it.
Who cares! The show is for entertainment! The movie was good too, get over it! The movie industry makes enough money with 10 dollars a ticket. Leave south park alone, its just for laughs.
Next they'll try to sue everyone who e-mailed the video to their friends.
Um, a "viral video" is considered in the public domain if it's posted on You Tube. You Tube doesn't own the copyright and the creator relinquishes copyright ownership by posting on the website.
It's called parody. It's also perfectly legal.
I would like to see the court proceedings when they play "What What in the Butt" in a packed courtroom. It would be the trial of the century!
Definitely not infringement.!! I wouldnt have even HEARD of that dude OR looked at his youtube video had it not been for South Park!
Fair use – look it up.
Doh! LOL... oops... Simpsons!!!
If something has had 33,000,000 YouTube views, it's definitely parody-worthy. South Park needs to tell this jackaroo to pull out the STICK STICK (UP HIS BUTT).
We're talking about video from 2007? Seems South Park's parody would be a rejuvenator for the original work and, certainly a compliment to the original artist. I think I just smell a bunch of lawyers....without funny bones.....
What these people ( the in the butt people) is that their video is old news. By creating a "parody" of it on a highly popular showwill only give it a second life. The publics curiousity is going to grow, making them go back to youtube and watch this video once again. Great marketing if they thought about it, but in this society people are too quick to sue then look at the positive aspects. I would be honored for South Park to parody me (even though i'm a nobody), because it would only increase my popularity. HEY TREY AND MATT MAKE THE CHARACTERS ON SOUTH PARK VICTIMS OF A PARODY TO SHOW HOW IGNORANT THESE PEOPLE ARE THAT KEEP TRYING TO SUE YOU!!!
Stupid lawsuite... give me a freakin' break. EVERYONE wants a free ride. Glad they are telling them to go F themselves.
It falls within the Fair Use law and therefore the in the butt man has no legs to stand on. It is clearly a parody and a parody is covered under Fair Use.
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MONKEY NUTS MONKEY NUTS MONKEY NUTS MONKEY NUTS MONKEY NUT THEY ARE REALLY HAIRY AND SOMETIMES BRAID THEIR NUT HAIRS
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I believe that the real problem is allowing these people to get famous from these viral videos on youtube. The fame is undeserved. South Park glorifies that and gets sued. What a crappy world we live in now. They should be excited that South Park probably brought more publicity to them.
I didn't think anything that someone posted on youtube could be considered protected? I thought you were putting it in the public domain once you post on Youtube.
This is complete bs... now that they found out that south park got 33,000,000 views, then they sue..
no not infringment... i love south park
Like this guy's protecting "intellectual property". Say whaaat? (in the butt)
Like twenty million people would have heard of his stupid song had South Park not parodied it.
Like he was going to lose millions of dollars by South Park parodying his stupid video.
He gave them permission to use it, now he's suing them. Three years later.
man i love south park i wach it every week
Look at it this way:
This will not be seen as copyright infringement. But I expect this to at least get to an appeals court.
If this were infringement, then Weird Al would've never been able to do any of his songs. He parodied many many pop culture songs. Everything from Michael Jackson (Beat It) to Coolio (Gangsta's Paradise) to Don McClean (American Pie). Most of the people on the list that have been parodied by Weird Al have expressed that they knew they made it in the business when they got parodied by him. Example: Dave Grohl of Nirvana said that he felt their band had "made it" when Weird Al recorded a parody of their song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in "Smells Like Nirvana."
From my recollection, only one person ever decided to be angry at Weird Al for his parody. The example that goes with this one is Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" and Weird Al's "Amish Paradise." Coolio never filed suit against him, but he did receive royalties from the song whenever it played.
So I do understand both sides, but I feel that I would side with South Park in this case. I feel they are going to show to the courts that it was just a parody and nothing more. But this I do feel will get far in the court system. So I guess we'll just see where it goes from there.
I don't watch a lot of that you-tube B.S. that is why I probably didn't get that episode...
who thought Mint-Berry Crunch was Kenny after the first episode of the trilogy?
Trey just send the guy a "tony haywood" apology video!!
I am still laughing !!! Thanks south park!!
Why isn't Eddie Murphy suing Sam Well? "What What In The Butt" is a blatant rip off (using some of the same back ground music) of Eddie's song off of one of Eddie's comedy albums from the 80's, "Boogie In the Butt".
I thought it was going to be NIKE for the Lebron spoof!!!
or Tony Haywood.."we're sorry"
I laughed my ass off at the DP photo of the Earth and Moon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Another great Trilogy TREY and MATT please keep the laughs coming!
Sorry...frame by frame recreation does not equal parody
Well either way got what in the he he he
just laugh with the rest of us....Save the Rainforest with Jen Aniston was HILARIOUS ...and I want to save the rain forest...
South Park and the Soup are the only 2 decent shows left and I have close to 1000 channels....
Leave Trey alone Samuels he extended your 15 minutes!
Samwell said in an interview with Daniel Tosh that he was called by South Park producers and asked to be parodied in the animated tv show. So where the infringement comes? Was that video made by a production company in association with him? Sounds strange. Really.
where where? in the derriere.
It wasn't frame by frame reproduction, in the orignal Samwell bumps his butt around with a black censor bar, I dont remember Butters doing that in the parody.
Samwell and the others gave verbal permission, from what I've been able to find online, but no contract was done up or royalties paid. The point is, South Park is a parody show and has legal grounds. They have sued others for copy right infringement, when their show was directly lifted and same characters used–in other words, whole segments were lifted and copied–but this is not the case here.
Honestly? Its just a show, get over it. South Park makes fun of everything. I think samwell is just looking for some more attention.
Weird Al Yankovic does parody....This was a frame for frame theft of intellectual property.....They have a case...
A recreation does not qualify as parody even if its South Park. Does it make fun of the youtube clip in some way or is it just a reinterpretation of the original material?
definitely not infringement he said he gave the rights to South Park for that episode
its parody and parody is protected by the first amendment
The thing that makes South Park so great is that it is real humor that is extremely funny because it has not a shred of bias or what is so popular these days on the same channel, raw idiotic hate disguised as comedy even though it is not the least bit funny.
One of the creators of SP said he really hate the type of people who sue over everything, looking for a free ride, the people who think it is so great when they wish death on people of a different ideology, but cry racist if you say you don't like their messiah's tie.
It's SOUTHPARK for gawds sake.......they've always made fun of EVERYTHING.....
This is totally fair use. The internet was under fire from movies and tv and they always claimed fair use. It is funny to me that someone from the internet would try to pull that crap on the industry. What a gold digger.
Yea, this case has already been argued time and again in the US legal system. Parody is protected. The precedents are set. It's open and shut case.
I hate South Park, but parody is protected. Unless they are Muslims, then we can do whatever we like to them and it's legal.
This is jsut a publicity grab. Why else would they wait two years before suing?
I love South Park.
Isn't everything they do a parody of other shows and events? I do not understand this lawsuit.
I can probably figure out what happened: Black gay guy (BGG, don't know his name, don't care) got on Tosh. Thought between his Youtube video and Tosh bump he would have a shot at a show on Comedy Central. BGG makes pilot that bombs and CC said no. Shady lawyer contacts BGG and tells him he can make him rich by suing CC, adding he's "got nothing to lose by trying" BGG goes for the big score, knowing he might as well burn his bridge with CC since they're not interested in him anyways.
Law-Student: you obviously have not passed a s State Bar:
It's a cartoon: it's a parody by definition.
Ok, let me see if I've got this straight...some doof with a rap about something being up their backside is upset that some moronic show (and I am being VERY kind) parodied it? Hmmm...I don't know what's worse...the song, the show, or the fact that it actually made some form of "news". I think Conan is more interesting than this scuff and I can't stand Conan. People, in the immortal words of William Shatner, GET A LIFE!!!
Another liberal problem solving skill. I will sooo sue you...
How original – a conservative trying to twist something that has no political relevance into an us vs. them argument. *yawn* Keep drinking the Kool-aid and thinking liberals are the enemy, meanwhile Washington's robbing ALL of us blind.
Slime lawyers.
I recall that Samwell, on Tosh.0, another Comedy Central show, specifically discussed the South Park parody and said that they had talked to him about it and that he had granted them permission.
I play Everquest 2 and live with my dad who yells at me a lot. I dont know how to play any of my toons because Im always on my Iphone sending pictures of my anatomy to make believe girls who are actually guys. I love Heann and his hot 60 year old man voice. Please dont hate me even though everyone does because I steal.
What a joke – don't people understand that SP is a parody of todays world? Heck its giving you free advertising, and YouTube users should realize if they post something on YouTube its going to potentially be used elsewhere. Yeah if you had 'copyrighted' the video before putting it up, you might have some teeth to your arguement, but otherwise you are SOL
I don't see how there is a legitimate suit here. It was a obvious parody, which means they are citing their source by its very nature; and since the song and video are available for free on YouTube, you can't show a loss of revenue. How can you copyright (anti-)intellectual property like a viral video? It designed to be copied.
What what? Sue their butt?
WOW.... Thats retarded
It's not infringement, it's a parody. People uploading an episode of a show to youtube is infringement. Most shows are free to watch from the network online anyway...the shows are paid for once it airs, so they made their money for the show from cable providers.
I guess SNL should be next for all the parodies they have made for a good number of years now. Lawsuits like this are brought about by whining nancies that need to stfu.
South park has been doing this for years, don't you think people would give up on trying to sue them by now?? Its all in good fun! Get a sense of humor champ.
Everybody knows SouthPark is funny we all secretly like it. So quit complaining
Who cares, I don't watch these types of programs neither do my children or grandchildren....thank goodness!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then why post a comment?
Copyright infringement my ass. What about weird al? That dude has been doing it for 31 years. Some musicians consider themselves made if he parodies their songs. he needs to get over himself. Kanye actually said seeing the parody of himself made him realize how ridiculous he was acting.
o.m.g I love this show
I think, no I'm sure... I don't care.
Just finished section in my law class....south park is protected by first amendment
Law student....
Southpark is already famous.it is the PARODY....!!!
This is the record company trying to squeeze another dime out of this horrible song. The record execs should be sued for financing a piece of garbage like this song and forcing it upon the masses.
If the Real/Desperate Housewives had been filmed in a Trailer Park....Check it out!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCKqoJ86fC4
This trailer park show is pretty good. Reminds me of trailer park boys a little. The music needs some tweaking. Not bad though. The blond chick is pretty hot.
Any form of parody should be protected. Besides the philosophical aspect of this–that people should have a right to build on ideas or to create political or social parodies–the practical truth is that South Park hasn't harmed the creators of the video in any way. If anything, all it does is acknowledge the fame of the original video, even *promoting* it to some extent. If the creators of the video had anything to sell or anything to gain from it, their parody in South Park is essentially free advertising.
lets check the facts. an ignorant video made by an ignorant person is being spoofed, from youtube. who cares about this shmuck he just wants attention. south park did the parody because they are trying to unveil the ignorance of the world and you samwell are the definition of it. u are going to lose the case and be humiliated and we will keep enjoying south park without you. im going to make a video called Where Where is the Justice
i think the show is dume
So if I take something frame-for-frame from South Park modify it slightly, and sell it commercially, the good folks at Comedy Central and South Park will have no problem with that? They'd try to sue me into pennilessness just to set an example!
Fair question Why isn't WEIRD AL being sued I mean hell don't the jacksons need more money from an alien death
Ah, the lawsuit as a business model! Another great American innovation. We're a starving dog, eating our own feet, while the Chinese simply step over our cripple carcass. U – S – A! U – S – A!
"do you agree with Comedy Central's view, that any form of parody should be protected?"
This question is irrelevant to this case. Parody is currently protected under the first amendment, whether or not anyone thinks it "should be". That's not "Comedy Central's view." That's the law. The plaintiff would have to somehow convince the court that it wasn't a parody in order to have a case for copyright infringement.
Anything you create on your own is immediately your intellectual property providing you can prove that you were the first to create it. You do that by copyrighting it. It's a very simple process. Setting that aside, the South Park folks stealing lines from a parody of "Inception" clearly written by another party IS infringement, but is only copyright infringement if copyrighted. Making a parody of WWitB is acceptable and no court under the sun would deem it anything less than a parody. HOWEVER, the South Park folks may owe Samwell some royalties for reproducing the song. My guess is Samwell is currently unemployed.
It's a PARODY. Totally legal. If anything, Samwell should welcome the notoriety and pay royalties to the South Park creators. It only boosted his popularity. If you get parodied on South Park, it's instant attention.
What an honor. I would love for South Park would do a parody of me, or my life.
I just love the irony of Viacom being sued BY Youtube. This is just payback for all of the Viacom hassles. They don't mean to win just rickroll Viacom.
So, can the WoW kid that stuck a remote up his butt sue anyone who sticks a remote up their butt? So dumb. Once you put something on youtube that isn't already copyrighted, you lose it. Sorry!
Absolutely ridiculous. South Park does this type of stuff ALL the time. What makes Samwell and Brownmark Filmsthink they're any more special than anyone else South Park pokes fun at?
If anything, this Brownmark Films needs to go back and listen to Eddie Murphy's Boogie in Your Butt. His version came decades before theirs...
Exactly! My neighbor had the 12" record from '83 with "Boogie In Your Butt" and it was awesome to hear it.
Samwell is just looking for easy money. They made fun of MANY youtube hits in that episode. I suggest he get a job rather than sue people for money.
When are companies going to stop suing to solve their problems?
OH YOU'RE DOING BETTER THAN ME I SHOULD SUE YOU.
One of the many reasons this country is going down the toilet.
Never heard of the original till I saw the SP show.
I didn't realize someone could be so stupid.
Ok, how can you infringe on anyone's rights with a stupid cartoon? Duma** lawyers!
Since when did anything thats on youtube become their copyright?? If that's the case youtube should be sued by every celebrity singer/actor/dancer who ever for hosting clips poking fun at them since what they did are copied by the actors whose clips are on that website??
Samwell needs to watch a few episodes of SNL.
If anything, South Park honored this guy by their show. Id say thats a pretty good deal for reaching out to a worldwide audience. How could that hurt? Just to be clear, I own two swedish bakerys. Id LOVE for the guys at South Park to make a show about that... My busines would explode....
This is a joke…
People and Companies are going to have to start realizing that humanity is getting to the point where just about everything has been done by someone else sometime in the past.
South Park picked something fairly recent just which means it was just caught faster (with the help of the Internet). Have you ever looked up some of the more popular songs or new ideas? Many would be surprised to find that much of what is out there is something that was written, re-written, or thought up many years ago (in some cases hundreds of years ago).
Besides; if you’re posting to YouTube then you can’t expect someone else not to use it in some way.
Sue away. More publicity for Parker & Stone. The joke's on everyone else, particularly YouTube. Don't you just love it when people with no sense of humor show their ass?
Samwell intentionally copyrighted his video when it became viral because that greedy jew wanted to make sure he could sue anyone that used his video
nice 'greedy jew' comment. no greedy christians in this world. they're all saints just like their messiah.
Be funny if them there Chilean Miners pulled up to the surface were met by people dressed as Planet Of The Apes.
That would have been excellent.
Funny though... Viacome sued (and lost) Youtube for copyright infringement. But it lost (in a nutshell) because Youtube showed to have removed the "offending" videos when notified of the "alleged" violation. Of course Youtube HAD to do that in order to obtain the safe harbor protection of the DMCA. MAny will recall that among the videos there was one where a regualr mom was "guilty" of singing a "copyrighted" song to her young child....Now it's Viacom's turn to be sued and guess what... it is not required that it stops showing the video at issue and it argues fair use!!!! Well, those who lives in glass homes should not throw stones, shouldn't they?
YeA they suck only want to get money and fame again and that what makes them hell its comedy central thats they make jokes about what ever hell the could do one of me I can't get mad cause its a damn joke
south park is the best but cant be sued for this........those people just want money.......
What exactly be Brownmark Films damages? Did they receive a fee when any of those 33 million people watched the original video on youtube? I mean, to successfully sue, Brownmark Films has to prove it lost money/sales.
OK, watching the linked Tosh.0 interview at 2:00, he admits that South Park asked to use the song, on his own web site at http://officialsamwell.com/bio/ it states "In early 2008 Samwell licensed the “What What” song to Comedy Central’s South Park. The song was used extensively in the season 12 episode “Canada On Strike“, which featured an animated re-creation of the What What video." So, what exactly are they suing for?
If children's advocacy groups have not sued in the two years since airing because the SP parody involves an 8 yr. old boy singing the song, there is no justification for this lawsuit except greed. They should be paying royalties *TO* SP for drawing attention to this ridiculous song. So, what's next? Are we going to see SP and Robot Chicken sued for parodies of Chocolate Rain? it's a parody for heaven's sake.
Greed!
That is all.
How are they suing?? I just saw a video of the 'singer' all happy that his song was on South Park.. He even said he game them permission...
The right to sue is stupid because it's unfair especially the amount most greedy selfish people are given.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUJ4bL6O3uw&feature=youtube_gdata_player
i thought South Park was thr original source of this until i saw it on Tosh.o. i cant wait for them to throw something into an episode about this, South Park gives me a reason to live..
Parody. The people who are suing have zero case, and if this thing ends up going to court, it'll be thrown out immediately.
What you mean south park? I thought it was north park huh , It seems the north koreans have invaded, better run or get televised. I wanna sue someone for not protecting our borders, ya know that wee fence between us and canada ? Makes all as much sense as a lawsuit over cartoons..... dbdbdbdbd thats all folks !
Samwell doesn't stand a chance. Its actually quite funny, really. Just imagine all the money he's going to lose in court fees and lawyer fees etc etc. I suppose when people saw Viacom and Comedy central buckle after last year's episode 201, they thought they could benefit. Ridonkulous.
There's a disclaimer at the beginning of the show. Did they miss that? I hate people.
This is a totally frivolous lawsuit, I remember the Tosh.0 episode with Samwell as a guest and I thought that he said that South Park asked him to use the video... I could be wrong because its been a while since I saw that segment but regardless this whole thing will get shot down.
people suing tv shows over parody have been historical failures, this will be no different.
First of all, the creator of that video is doing it only to gain some publicity, we all understand that.
Second, it says more than 33 millions views, well guess what. More than half of those views registered AFTER the south park episode. IT'S A FACT!
One word... Stupid. Why do we live in a world where suing people is always the answer...
It's Bourne Co. v. FOX (the case concerning the parody of "When You Wish Upon A Star" in an episode of Family Guy that Peter sang about hoping that a Jewish person would come to help him with his finances) all over again. SPOILER ALERT: FOX won that case.
It's a parody! There, I just saved everyone involved hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars, avoiding sending this BS to court. Seriously, the idiots who are sueing need to get a life, and figure out a better way to LEGALLY make some money!
This is what happens when idiots have too much free time. What they did with this is NOTHING compared to the "Cripple Fight" episode, that was lifted in it's entirety (including the dialog) from the fight scene between Roddy Piper and David Keith in the the movie They Live. And John Carpenter didn't pizz his pants over that.
I think we need to cut a chickens head off and have it walk around a moving circle, if it lands on the infringing half, its infringing, if the chicken with its head cut off dies on the non-infringing half then its not infringing, and IF it weighs as much as a goose, then its a witch and we should burn it.
This is just another vain attempt at the legal system and media to start the process of the gradual pussification of america.. freedom of speech,just watch what you say, do, or who you say or do it to, or infront of.. Hell, EVERY SINGLE sh.itcom er.. sitcom on tv is a rehash, remake, reimagining, whatever the PC term is for lack of imagination these days, of something that's already been done.. when something ORIGINAL is parady'd or satirized..and it causes actual damage to something original. then sue away.. besides that.. just keep on churning out bad stuff in hollywood, until all that worry so much about it, just choke on it.. as for me, i just choose to choke while laughing at what southpark does.. can't we all just get along?
what about a parody of the parody? is that still under first amendment?
What? Do they need another payday? Everyone knows what time it is with SouthPark.
Grow a thicker skin and shut up!!!!! First Amendment here!
duh fools look up copyright!And then see if it changes ur thought on suit. just enjoy the show and stop thinking $$$
These guys want to sue South Park for giving them national exposure? South Park should counter-sue for undue harassment.
I'm not a fan of the show, but this is total BULL. Let them be!
Who cares? People are too damn sensitive.
Parody is a form of flattery. It should absolutely be OK, just like saying "Hey man, nice job!"
Maybe the 70's band "Musique" should sue that guy for parodying their song "Push Push in the Bush". I remember people saying that phrase "What what in the butt" ever since 1978 as a direct joke to that song.
They just want a piece of the South Park loot. Greed.
because south park made fun of it, does it make the song any more gay? seriously?
They can use the "the wookie defense."
Long live south park. Long live you tube. I hope the greedy lawyers burn in hell !
i honestly dont care.. South park sux anyone who watches it has a low IQ ....shows like this show how america is dumbed down.
This mensa member, computer programmer, and published author would like to disagree with you, Joe.
Well, either you've watched it and by your own definition therefore possess a low IQ or you've never watched it and therefore you argument about it is moot and position on it is irrelevant.
Why would they get sued when every one makes fun of it like tosh.O and even then it just will get more views
yeah wooo Brownmark (seriously, that's your name? i have brownmarks in my undies) is a bunch of tossers!
Why would they sue when south park makes fun of everything and then that gets big so it would gain more views
first of all, if you want to clear things up... we should just put SouthPark out of the tube.... otherwise why make big issues out of something funny and entertaining.... take it easy and lets give a hard time to people who really deserve it...
NOTE: i am not a fan
Southpark had another episode about youtube celebrities wanting to cash in their "theoretical dollars". This is frighteningly similar to that scenario. If anything, they made this video more popular and gave the original artist more exposure, and he has the balls to claim they stole money from him?
No one would have ever heard of 'what what in the butt' if it had not been on South Park
So, if it's not the guy who's in the video, who is doing the suing? Didn't he make up that song (I think he said something like that on Tosh.0)? This is ridiculous. South Park, just keep making the funny social commentary happen.
Lame. Somebody trying to make a quick buck off the show.
What do I think? It doesn't matter what I think. Parody is fair use. To have infringement you'd have to prove that South Park is not parody or satire. Good luck with that...
didnt the creators of south park ask samwell beforehand?
The point is that don't have to, and that's called freedom. It's a real world example of what everybody's telling you to thank the military for all the time.
What's the statute of limitations on this?
-1 days.
Fox News would be proud of such a misleading headline about such a non-story. Larry Flynt won this battle for them long ago.
It's frickin' South Park for God's sake! Damn...
I took a dump in my shoes accidentally once. I put them on anyways. It was cold. It kept my feet warm.
I honestly didn't know that was an actual video. I thought Trey and Matt made it up.
It's psrody, plain and simple. The lawsuit has no legs to stand on.
Here's an older interview with the guys who made the original:
http://blogcritics.org/video/article/brownmark-films-qa-with-the-creators/
Here they describe their response the first time they saw the South Park parody:
"When Butters' "What What In the Butt" video came on we thought we were dreaming. We sent Trey and Matt a thank you email the next day but never heard back."
Wonder what makes them go from a thank you note to a (losing) lawsuit?
Parody should be protected period. Otherwise, the maker of the work parodied could stifle another's humor simply because the humor doesn't jive with the taste of the original work's author. The result would be either artists not doing parody at all for fear of disapproval, or obtaining permission first, which would simply not work for satire, as satire and censorship do not go together.
How and why is someone going to sue the greastest show ever 1? 2 they have been doing this for years and if people thought it was a problem wouldn't comedy central be aware or what its allowed to do or not do. Sounds like some more people trying to get money. Matt Stone & Trey Parker thank you creators.
south park version = cute , youtube version = really gay ; NOT infringement.
Parody. Protected.
So sick of copyright, extended to infinity (asap, if they get their way) just so no one could do to Disney what Disney did to Bros. Grimm
Am I the only one reacting to this by hearing Stans mother screaming out "WHAT WHAT WHAT!! (in the butt)"
The guy in the video said on Tosh.0 that the South Park people asked if they could use it and he said they gave them permission. They really have no case whatsoever.
Kathy's right, parodys aloud by law. THe lawsuit cant be won.
Normally I would have sided with South Park on this, but it's really not a parody, since they play the same music and sing the same words. If you can imagine any show wanting to use a song by a musician on it, then the persons holding the rights to the song, has to allow it and be paid. This may well be such a case. Had they changed the words/or music somehow maybe Parody would work, but simply changing the imagery (and that's only slightly) is immaterial, to the music and lyrics. All that said, it' not Samwell suing but Brownmark Films, and as there are differences in the imagery (like butters in the bear suit and the space suit) there are some differences. Yet if Samwell sued, he might have a case (but I'm not sure he wasn't paid to use his song in the first place–as it's sort of standard practice. What do you think?
I think it won't matter at all, since, as other posters have stated, this guy admitted he gave persmission, on national television, on a show airing on the same network that he is suing. I'm sure it will come up during litigation.
i really don't understand, why would any body want to sue south park anyways?
thats just stupid! and if Mad Magazine does parody too, then why dont we see them gettin
sued too???? thats just a bunch of BS!!!
Samwell even said on Tossh.0 that South Park called and asked his permission to use it.
Okay, the 'what what in the butt song' is already fowl and ridiculous. They are just asking to be made fun of. How is South Park going to mess it up anymore? Come on videos on youtube are up for grabs, don't post them if you don't want the possibility of them being used elsewhere.
It was not a parody *of the Youtube video*, and therefore not protected. I'm the biggest fan of SP ever, but this was just lazy. M&T said that the reason they copied the jokes is because they couldn't get a screener of the real movie in time. Come on guys, you can do better than that. Totally infringement. Settle this and get it over with.
This lawsuit has nothing to do about Inception..
The guy made a great video, it was copied completely......give the guy a few bucks for his creativity. He deserves it.
Funny part about this is that legal teams, a judge, possibly a jury, and legal scholars who specialize in fair use law are going to have to do a frame by frame analysis of the visuals, context, and lyrics of these two versions of "What what in the butt".
Additionally, it will be quoted as legal precedent for future cases.
South Park SUKS!!!
Oh please. If you could successfully sue for copyright infringement fot an obvious parody then saturday night live would have gotten sued on a daily basis for the past thirty years. That production company needs to get a life. I hope south park and comedy central make them pay their attorney fees.
I must be missing something South Park being sued for the use of Butters by another person and then imitating that themselves, isnt Butters their IP. Thats like Disney being sued because someone used the image of Mickey and Disney did the same thing, Mickey is owned by friggin Disney.
That is what South Park does... one person finds a problem with being parodied and sues. It will amount to nothing.
Samwell damnwell ought to loose and pay South Park.
YOU NEED TO RESPECT MY ATHORITA!
Did I leave my iron on?
You'll never sue them. They'll just parody it in a way that will be so creatively genius, it will be SURE to offend many more.
I could have sworn that "South Park being sued" stopped being news well over 5 years ago
welllll i think steven should be their lawyer since he is a law student lol...n wikipedia??? making idiots learn something in a page n then thinking the know it all....lol:) gonna go watch some southpark now
are you kidding me? not infringement....give me a break
Copyrite infringemen is a hard one to win. the "copy" has to be so close to the original that the law really has no purpose. The plaintif doesnt have a chance.
It's always funny until you're the one being made fun of. South Park producers have been feeding their lines off of real life characters since the show has started. These skits are what makes up the entire show. Samwell has probably seen this show several times being a comdeian himself, and has had numerous laughs toward other characters based on real life people. There is no sympathy from my end, and the lawsuit itself should just be dropped or it will make several more punchlines for other shows. Mass media has a way of creating and ruining lives. Afterall, this is the United States.
You are beyond stupid. Read the story again and get a clue.
Disregard. Replied to wrong comment. Duh.
It's called parody, and it's the most protected form of free expression. Good luck with that.
this is southpark LET SOUTHPARK BE SOUTHPARK its funny just let the show go all it is is entertainment
Southpark is great. it rips on all the stupid celebs in ways that everyone already thinks anyway. They just come out and say what the rest of us are thinking about these jokers.
i agree
I think people will do anything to try to make, or steal, a buck. I don't think South Park did anything wrong, and if anything, probably increased the views of the youtube videos.
Here's the link where the creators were honored about South Park paying "homage" to their video:
http://blogcritics.org/video/article/brownmark-films-qa-with-the-creators/
Since God created everything, technically he owns all rights. Done.
Won't be long between the F***ing liberals and the stupid wanna be's we won't be able to watch or say anything without stepping on somebodys poor tender toes – screw em'... Anything goes!!! Ye Haw......
What do liberals have to do with this? Tell me you aren't one of those freaks who blames everything that has gone wrong, is wrong, and will be wrong on the liberals?!?!? I'm mean geez, that's the lamest thing I've heard on this yet.
What an idiot. This lawsuit is about greed. When the economy tanked it was over greed, not a liberal agenda of government taking over the free market. What paranoia.
If South Park is sued over this parody, will other shows like SNL also be sued?
poor butters...caught in the midst of drama..i say, leave the pumpkin alone!
Is this a joke? SP makes this dude famous and now he's suing them for it?
That episode was about stealing stuff from the internet. It was making fun of all internet videos. Seriously, that was the point of the episode....then again, I'm not surprised people wouldn't look at context when drawing conlcusions.
How is the network allowed to throw hissy fits over their shows being uploaded to youtube under fair use, but somehow immune to copyright infringements themselves? Hypocrites are so annoying.
As a law student who is very familiar with copyright protection, South Park will WIN this lawsuit on the fair-use doctrine defense. It doesn't matter if it was frame-by-frame. The court will need to assess four factors: Purpose and character of use of the video, nature of the copyrighted work, amount and substantiality copied, and effect of use upon potential market. In Campbell v. Acuff-Rose, the court held there to be no infringement under fair use even though 3 of the four factors were greatly satisfied, except there was no effect upon the potential market. Here, it is very clear that south park distinguishes itself from the original video. And there is obviously no harm to the market because if anything, viewers of that episode viewed the original, thus improving the market. Therefore, Viacom and Comedy Central will WIPE OUT the idiot plaintiff.
i never watched the original but went and watched it after seeing this article
The creator of the original should be proud and happy that South Park spoofed his video....not sue. Now this guy is just a loser, go South Park!!
But is South Park trying to claim they Parodied a video that was itself a parody?
who cares its not like they havent ben sued before they got enough money from that tv show to do anything, they got sued for saying the S@#* word about a hundred times in just one episode and got fined about 150 thousand $ each time they said it and ppl go and watch this and they get more money for the views on tv so the south park company can pay who ever off no problem 😀
Wow... They did not get sued for saying S#!T on TV. First of all, Comedy Central is a cable progam and is not bound by the FCC rules. They can say whatever they want because it is not public broadcast. They censor the episodes by request by Comedy Central. They asked for specific permission for that S#!T episode just to showcase how stupid the censorship laws are in the US. They were not subject to any fines because they were on cable and they were no subject to any damages from anyone complaining because they could have changed the fnucking channel.
Exactly what are their damages? What did the video lose by this parody? If anything, the publicity benefited the video. I don't see, nor do I hope, that they prevail.
South Park is so sick it is funny...I love Mr Hanky The Christmas Poo, geez people lighten up, I sing what what in the butt now all the time, I am 47 year old female and cant stop laughing, my husband and I never miss a show and we are professional people, if only our collegues knew what we are watching! But they probably watch it too! I would like to see more of Towel, wanna get high! How about Chefs mom tree fivey and Kennys soul going into the potroast!! LOLOLOL...we all need more laughs
To really understand this topic of being sued for infringement, please follow the link to a YouTube video that will clearly discuss both sides in an intelligent manner http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0
then why doesnt everyone in the world sue south park? this is so dumb. and even coming from a youtube video? are you kidding me? if anything it helped make the youtube video more famous.
In ancient Greece if someone where to copy your work it was considered a form of flatery, these days it's sue. Seriously this is a parody, an homage to the original. What popular TV show hasn't done a spoof? The Simpsons? Family Guy? Next thing you know Jeopardy will be sued for its use of quotes, and mentions. Come on people smarten up.
@jrfoldes
that's because 1. in Ancient Greece they didn't have copy and Paste 2. Everyone already knew all the works anyway so there was no way in heII that they could pass off the odyssey, Iliad, etc... as `their own and 3. All other works of Art were so hard to make that you might as well be the dang artist (in crafting skill).
If you ask me? The show South Park is racist and prejudges and should be cancled
1 no one asked you
2 if you're going to call someone prejudiced at least spell it correctly.
3 It's called satire. South Park highlights the stupidity of racism by using characters who are racists.
Ben, it would be better if you were cancelled.
It was a cartoon not a real interpretation of the video. I am sick of all of these people being sued over nothing. It's South Park, Family Guy does this all the time so what's wrong if South Park does it. It's a YouTube video not a hollywood blockbuster.
It's a frivalous lawsuit at best. Viacom is gonna be ok
South Park can pay them off in "internet money"....
LOL....well said. I'm pretty sure this guy is a theoretical internet billionaire!
Yeah, Farmville dollars.
Read the statement before the opening played. End of story.
it's funny that Viacom is being sued because of copyright claims by Youtube and Youtube is being sued because of copyright claims by Viacom.
It's freakin' South Park! They should be honored that a parady was made about them!
It's not just "Comedy Central's view" that parody should be protected. Geez, don't reporters do any research anymore? Parody is one of the three forms of communication that are protected from this form of prosecution.
brownmark?! suedme too. ive got a lawsuit pending ready to go. come on and feel my gunmpstiobn!!!
Considering the youtube video used southpark material, maybe south park should counter sue. Either way, I hope south park buries these losers. I hope they go to court, and spend all their money just to lose. Then they get so depressed, that they they kill themselves.
If this is copyright infringement, then the original video is infringing the American flag. The video takes place on a red, white and blue platform, obviously stealing from our nations colors. *end sarcasm* Honestly, I hate obnoxious execs looking for a quick buck on some guys making fun of their crappy films.
dudes failing at money grabbing. he's going the wrong way with it.
they have better lawyers than you do.
This lawsuit is an absolute joke! Do I hear a case dismissed?
I would say that if something were in my butt I would sue for infringement as well!!
They should be paying South Park for the publicity! They probably were responsible for half of their views!
Hey what What in the Butt Guy it's called a parody. The Supreme Court has consistently ruled that parodies are protected free speech. They also parodied the Tron Guy and the Dramatic Chipmunk but you don't see them suing.
SIMPSONS DID IT!!!!!!
SIMPSONS DID IT!!!!
The lesson learned here is don't put things on youtube if you don't want them ripped off by others who take advantage of the fact that it is just "another dumb video on youtube". Youtube is a crutch for hacks who can't stand on their own.
Somebody's looking to cash in on Trey Parker and Matt Stone's genius.
Anybody else have a problem with the assumption that unlearned people's opinions should be weighed with whether a law has been violated?
Screw you guys, I'm going home
So....what's next? Is George Lucas going to sue Mel Brooks for Spaceballs? Is Saturday Night Live going to be taken off the air? The examples could go on and on. The lawsuit clearly has no merit. Hopefully they'll be countersued and the costs (as well as a bit extra) will be recovered.
samwell actually gave permission to use that video by south park he said that himself on tosh.0 and south park rules who ever sues them should burn in hell
Wake up! its a cartoon! really? payn lawyers over a cartoon? your serious?
On Tosh.O that guy said he gave permission for them to use it
Parody is one of the few spelled out uses that is allowed under copyright. Since it IS parody, and the opening to South Park has always mentioned parody and bad humor, I don't see how this will ever make it to courts.
I think if South Park is sued for its parody, that will leave the door open for anyone to sue anyone for doing a parody. Think of the kids out there doing Star Wars and Star Trek parodies, or even Weird Al who parodies famous songs. I know Weird Al asks permission before his parody songs are recorded. He doesnt have to. But he does. I would think that recreation is the sincerest form of flattery. I mean, how many hits did Samwell get on his viral video AFTER the Butters Parody aired on South Park? Or any of the Viral Videos that were "Guest" stars on that episode. I certainly looked up "Dramatic Looking Gopher" and "Chocolate Rain". I would think of this as free advertising at best.
Pretty sure Coolio wasn't to happy with Amish Paradise. So I'm not so sure if he is asking everyone or even if he is and you say no he might just do it anyway.
From what I heard, Coolio's production company did give their okay to Weird Al doing Amish Paradise, but Weird Al was under the impression Coolio was okay with it as well. Then it came out and Coolio said he never gave permission. Weird Al apologized, publicly and privately but Coolio wasnt hearing it. Point is, people are going to get their toes stepped on no matter what.
South Park is the only reason this video became such a viral hit. They should be thanking them.
Parody and satire are NOT copyright infringement. If they were, comedy would be dead.
Dude if you make it high enough in popular culture to be parodied by South Park....smile and count yourself lucky for the beating you're going to receive. It's the cost of "making it".
Exactly! It should even be considered an honor to be parodied by Matt & Trey. It shows that most of the viewing audience understands the reference.
Sue them in the butt, in the butt.
Dude you just did a parody of the song so you need sued too if south park is going to be sued!
Wow, if the law didn't apply the way it does think of all the fantasticly hilarious movies we would have missed out on in the past 40 years. Too many to list, but I will mention Mel Brooks...... Enough Said!
its public domain and south park / comedy central should not by sued. Butters video was better than the other one. That's why they're angry.
Everybody knows that South Park relies heavily on parodies. Anyone trying to sue South Park, of course, unless they expressly stated they do not wish to be parodied, is being too harsh. It's an entertainment!
Isn't 50% of YouTube copyrighted material?
And Kai, it isn't the lawyers that decide to bring the lawsuits. Blame the litigious people, not the lawyers. If you have a case with any merit and you show willing to pay for a lawyers services, if she has the time, she'll probably take the case. It's like blaming doctors for people not taking care of themselves and having to have medical procedures done
who pays for lawyers. they probly took this case under the we'lll take most of your settlement agreement.
It's called parody. Learn to live with it.
Parody is protected under free speech. They're good, and they did apologize for the collegehumor/Inception thing. This guy's just trying to get in on the game.
Took Copyright in law school, but since it was my last year I really didn't pay much attention. But, from what I recall this would come under fair use, or public domain or something, I don't remember. Anyway, Comedy Central should have a winning argument.
Fair use = "frame by frame reproduction"?
This is assinine. They might as well sue everyone that copied & pastes the video into an e-mail, posts it on their Myspace, or even just talks about it! Ppl wouldn't be able to c&p it, if it wasn't on a PUBLIC ACCESS site. 'Public trash, public domain', right?!
South Park should not be sued as long as they remain funny.
it USED to be funny until a few years back. the episode where timmy and jimmy joined a gang was the STUPIDEST episode ever and after that, it lost its touch, at least with me. they show Buddha doing drugs. I'm not a Buddhist, but I do respect them and I REFUSE to do anything to offend them, unlike South Park.
Well then Anon, you miss the main point of the show. And that is that you can either make fun of everything, or nothing at all.
You have the option to change the channel, so do it and shuttup.
@Anon: If it helps from the POV of a devoted Buddhist for 12 years now, I found it hilarious. They make fun of EVERYBODY, I'd feel more upset it my religion was left out, that's the appeal of South Park. When it comes to most Buddhists I can say we take it all very well, they weren't trying to be hurtful so so harm done.
Peace,
Pyre
Just another case of a hungry lawyer. We need to throw 90% of them in the ocean.
kai: Reminds me of a couple of good lawyer jokes:
Question: What do you call 10,000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?
Answer: A good start.
Question: What do you call 10,000 lawyers up to their necks in sh!t?
Answer: Not enough sh!t.
(I used to go to a small church with several lawyers in the parish and lawyer jokes were a favorite pasttime)
As a lawyer I always find it amusing that people blame the lawyer for bringing the suit and not the client. Remember we only do what our clients ask. Blame them! Lol.
Yes but as a lawer you will do your clients bidding even if you feel they're a moron to make a buck. Also help them find legal loop holes to get more. Bend truths and such to make a case. South park will be fine.
And I want to sue the Sun for burning my skin last summer.. will JD07 take the case? It's the famous excuse for con-men out there: don't blame me, I just am trying to get what my client wants. How about doing the moral and ethical thing and tell your client that the lawsuit is frivolous and explain what the Supreme Court has handed down over the years. A layman doens't understand legal-mumbo-jumbo like freedom of speech. Just like the mortgage broker who tells his client that signing this adjustable rate mortgage will be the best thing for them, sharks prey on the uneducated individual to earn themselves a quick buck.
Don't blame the pick pocket. Blame the other guy for not protecting his wallet.
Their lawyer might have told them this was a bad idea, but some clients get it into their heads that they are right, and no amount of sensible or logical arguments are going to persuade them. This probably isn't the only work this firm has done for this client, so it's not a matter of just telling them "no, i will not do this". The client will just take all of their business elsewhere. Being a lawyer is still running a business. I'm going with it's the client's fault.
Boo.
Dear Mr. Samwell,
Because South Park is able to claim fair use and parody your claims to infringement will not stand up in court as the majority view is to err on the side of free speech lest we have a chilling effect running across all media, you silly goose.
Regards,
Red Team
Props for using chilling effect ^-^
you silly goose haha..that was perfectly placed.
This happened all the way back in 2008. Even Samwell said that he got extra views on youtube thanks to the South Park Episode. And now 2 years later the production company is suing???!!!!
WTH???
Dude, I agree with you.
They didn't care while they were reaping the benefits of the publicity it got them. Now it's time to make an extra dime.
This is so not infringement are they insane?! The dude that made the oringinal video talked on tosh.o and said he let them post it on southpark in an episode!
I guess the producers of Inception need some cash. I guess that crap movie didn't make enough money?
What? It's not Inception that's suing.
Did you read the entire article?
Look at the beginning of ANY and all south park episodes, at that little disclaimer, it releases south park and their creators of any copyright infringement. If this goes too much further, I can see Kanye West coming out of the woodworks to say that the Fish Sticks episode was wrong, and every episode that they've ever put on the air. If Samwell isn't even involved, then i dont understand why this is even happening.. Is putting something up on YouTube really making it a YouTube copyright now??? I guess i dont understand... its just crazy!
You should take 10 minutes and look up "copyright" on Wikipedia.
Jason: Are you kidding? Wikipedia? Most teachers won't allow students to get their information for papers they write from Wikipedia because the articles are written by whoever wants to write them and can be edited by anyone as well. Can't you come up with a better source? Anyway, there is no law against doing parodies, which is what Southpark does.
Wikipedia is a perfectly fine source of information 99% of the time, especially in the case of casual information gathering. In the case of a professional/academic piece of work, yeah, you may not want to use a piece that has numerous anonymous authors, but for this? I'm sure Wikipedia has a perfectly accurate and informative entry for copyright that could give someone a good understanding of how it works.
Jason: Don't quit your day job. The legal profession definitely isn't your field.
Technically a copyright exists as soon as an idea is created, makes no difference whether or not or where it is published.... However, parody is generally not an acceptable violation of copyrights...
Disclaimer???? So, I guess a bank rommer can rob a bank and put a disclaimer on the note and that absolves her of all responsibility?!?! Ridiculous!!!!!!
So, Kara... Do YOU like Fish Sticks? 😉
i think its funny how everyone tries to sue comedy central and south park for making parodies about movies, song,videos, or people but hey they just need to calm down and laugh . thats what the tv show was made for
haha: So true. And why hasn't Mad Magazine been sued a gazillion times? They have been doing parodies of movies and TV shows for decades. Never heard about them being sued even once.
Totally agree!
Once you hit youtube its fair game!!!!
people need to calm down!!!
Says the one with all the exclamation points..
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just because it's on YouTube doesn't mean it's fair game. Applicable copyright laws still apply. So you can't then use that video to make money. However parody is protected. Weird Al has been sued a bunch of times over the exact same issue.
South Park has done nothing wrong. They've only made a semi popular youtube video into a viral video and I'm sure his video is much more well known now after the fact that south park parodied it. I probably would have never seen the original video if it hadn't been for South Park. That's free advertisement, and remember no publicity is bad publicity.
Actually, "Wierd" Al was only sued once, by Coolio. Every single other artist he has ever parodied has given persmission, and several witnesses say Coolio did, too. He just decided it was bad for his "gangsta" image after he had done it and tried to save face.
Is it me or has the world gone insane
The world has ALWAYS been insane. God made it that way.
God doesn't make the world like this, we do.
God is a zombie
I spoke to God yesterday and he disclaims any responsibility for this
GOD EXISTS.
THAT IS ALL!
every time someone brings up this argument god kills a puppy. while laughing at us and taking our lunch money
It's you.
ZOMBIE JESUS!!!! Where's my puppy?
Definitely not infringement.
I second that.
third that
Fourth that?
Almost everything South Park does is parody. If you could sue for that, they would have been off the air ten years ago. This is a frivolous lawsuit that can't be won. Parody is protected from copyright infringement.
i think Samwell is looking for another 15 minutes of fame.
So far all the comments against south park have obviously been people offended by the show for years. They pretty much aim to insult everyone at one point, not just you. Also, if you watch South Park you'd see the parodies coincide with the storyline very creatively, it's not just random ripoffs. The real crooks of Hollywood are these producers doing remakes!
I didn't even know it was copyrighted at the time, but I'm sure Samuel benefited from it. Nonetheless, parody. I think samwell is just trying to stir up some publicity being this was 3 yrs ago
How is the network allowed to throw hissy fits over their shows being uploaded to youtube under fair use, but somehow immune to copyright infringements themselves? Hypocrites.
no, south park has made fun of everyone you can possibly make fun of and this lawsuit is about something they made fun of 2-3 years ago. come on, its just a show.
Parody, as satire, by definition, must mimic. Of course it's not infringement.
this is a scheme to get money. samwell even acknowledged the parody when he was on Tosh.O, it clearly wasn't an issue then – so why now, 2 years later?
I've never posted anything on Youtube.. but does that mean that they own the copyrights to everything uploaded to their site??
agreed. if this were the case, then MAD magazine would've been the worst violator in history.
It's the people that don't appreciate humor in its true form that go out doing these things and wasting everybody's time and money. If it was such an issue for the prosecutors, they should have taken action when the episode was realeased, not now.
This is ridiculous! That guy showed up on Tosh.O and took PRIDE in the fact that he was on South Park!? Besides, Parodies are NOT copy right infringement! It's not like they claimed it was their idea!!! The Vandals are being sued for using a parody of The Variety's logo in their name on Hollywood Potato Chip as well! People are going NUTS with this stuff!
US copyright laws allow parody of any material, even if it is copyrighted. How do you think Jon Stewart uses all those videos clips. There is no case here.
Give me a break – seriously???
At last, Rodger rabbit has been framed. what a pity! Can't you leave these fellas?
protect the comedy, it is one of the few remaining symbolances of sanity left in America.
You know Butters is not real, right?
A clear infringement of which should be punished by death or at least the Democrats and the Republicans each sacrificing a senator for this outrage against all that is good and decent !!!! Cartman put Butter's dork in his mouth!! Are the producers of Brokeback mountain going to sue next ????
parody is heavily protected. thanks, south park, for entertaining us all these years under its protection!
No, it didn't infringe on anything.. I didn't even hear of this stupid video before made by that crazy dude until today.
why did they wait 2 years and he was also gloating about his video being featured in south park on Tosh.0
When South Park parodied the Mormon Religion as a musical, were they sued for infringing on copyrighted religious material? When South Park parodied Scientology, were they sued because it was copyrighted material? When South Park gloriously recreated The Lord of The Rings with fourth graders, were they sued for using copyrighted lines from the script of LOTR? I think not. The fact of the matter is, anyone who's material appears on the South Park should consider themselves extremely fortunate enough that it caught the attention of Matt and Trey. They are brilliant creators of a show that pokes fun at everything, so please, for the love of satire and all that is good, let them continue doing their job.
The report states that Samwell is not mentioned in the lawsuit... so who is suing for this? Is this like when the goverment sued on smoker's behalf then kept the money?
This will never see the light of a court room why? Parody's can mimic copyrighted items for the sake of comedy
please research Parody: Fair Use or Copyright Infringement then pass this along to the idiots trying to sue matt and trey
Thats bull that would make people want to look at the original it gets u views,some people just want money and thats it.Its a parody not a dam award show material.You make a video you should be lucky enough to be put on a show that helps put you up in the ranks of higher class youtube videos.Hes looking for money thats all.
On an episode of Tosh.0 the singer and poster of the video of what what in the butt told tosh that he gave south part permission to use that song, so how is that in any way copyright infringement?
hahahahahaha law student 1 chimes in and so does law student 2 later with their law class speeches prepared. law student 1 is more laughable because he or she defends the plaintiff. i almost took you seriously until I realized you aren't paid to give advice yet.
It is curious that Youtube is suing for copyright infringement. Have you seen youtube lateley? This is a case of witch hunting by Youtube, that favors South Park. I never saw the program, now, I am watching it.
Brownmark Films? hahahaha
South Park has been this way since the very start. If you sue comedic shows over parodies, then there would be no good tv. This lawsuit is a waste of government knowledge.
It's a cartoon for f***sakes ,along with The Simpsons and Family Guy.Thats what they do!
Law Student, you are obviously a 1L right.
The lawsuit has no merit. This issue has been to court before with other parody acts.
why sue them. that's retarded! i love that show! why sue it! i have seen every episode. and you sue one! that doesnt work with me son!
why sue them. that's retarded! i love that show! why sue it! i have seen every episode. and you sue one! that doesnt work with me son! kyle, cartman, stan, kenny are awesome why sue that show. its as good as family guy heck its better than family guy. but why sue um?
Parody is allowed. I bet the South Park creators are finding this all humorous since they dedicated a whole show to the "theoretical" fortunes made by YouTube morons. NumaNuma, Chocolate Rain, Chris Crocker and the Tron Guy are theoretical billionaires...
I do believe that a parody is something that should be protected under the law. If it was not then all the movies, such as; not another teen movie, disaster movie, date movie, would be sued too! C'mon folks – south park done enough to be sued over, and this is something you will pick at? ha!
South Park must live on. I mean see what the Russians went through and they are still here. Don't let this one sueing bring South Park down and you dont have tp be dumb to like it. I work for Microsoft with a masters in Technology and i still watch it. So anyone who hates south park can burn in hell.
Not infringement, but Viacom is a bunch of hypocrites.
Agreed.
I first amendment that!
Good for fifth on that one
Parody is "fair use". However, this means that Southpark was only using a portion of the copyrighted material. That article says that Southpark's version is a frame by frame reproduction. If this is true, then this is infringement.
NOT infringement. VERY hilarious.
dude they ask guy that did what what in the butt i for god sakes its a parody if thats the case alot of you tube accounts should be take in down
I agree.
Timmy!
Under Fair Use guidelines, as a parody, South Park is obviously within their rights. Sounds like Samwell is a money-grubbing nobody, who now (almost three years late) is looking to profit from this.
These lawsuit is full of crap, the suers are far to think headed and small minded to pull off such a stunt and know full and damn well that paradying is all they do for 15 yeas. In fact the what what in the butt movie, became the biggest sensation since 2007-8. Besides why the hell would someone sue the south park ctudios for the video all of a sudden. what the hell is their reason in 2010 instead of 2007 huh? yea thats what I thought. I also believe the ants trying to sue the south park creaters are in for one hell of a swift kick in their ass. They will never be able to get away with it, so good luck to them.
Yes by law comical paradies are protected by law. They will be fine
All Master P. ever really wanted was to buy a small island in French Polynesia for his son. Now, due to copyright infringement, he may have to wait before he can buy that island.
Yes by law comical parodies are protected by law. They will be fine
I hope they counter sue and make these idiots pay their lawyers wages / court fees.
What a pile of B.S.
Read the article, it says that samwell ISN'T mentioned in the lawsuit, meaning that the lawsuit is from someone else, who I can't imagine. It might be that in making his video that samwell ripped off someone else and they didn't realize it until now.