Federal judge tosses out copyright lawsuit filed by Dr Seuss Enterprises to stop publication of Star Trek parody comic of 'Oh, The Places You'll Boldly Go!'
Audrey Stone Geisel, right, the widow of author and artist Theodor"Dr. Seuss" Geisel, and Angelo Wider of the U.S. Postal Service unveil a stamp honoring the late artist on what would have been his 100th birthday, Tuesday, March 2, 2004, in San Diego.
US District Judge Janis Sammartino in San Diego said ComicMix’s crowdfunded “Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go!” made fair use of the 1990 Seuss book, and did not infringe copyrights of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, which oversees the author’s estate. Sammartino said while ComicMix borrowed heavily from Seuss, “Boldly” was a “highly transformative” work, and any harm to the market for Seuss’ works was speculative.
“We’re ecstatic,” Michael Licari, a lawyer for ComicMix, said in an interview. “This is a big win for the First Amendment.” He said his client looks forward to publishing “Boldly,” pending a possible appeal.It said it strongly disagreed with the fair use conclusion, and that Sammartino downplayed or ignored evidence that ComicMix “intended to preempt the important graduation market” for the Seuss original and would likely cause “real market harm.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the entity that owns the author's IP and filed the lawsuit, has issued a strongly-worded statement following today's ruling. Here it is in full:
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