Netflix has sued the team behind “The
Unofficial Bridgerton Musical”, claiming that the Grammy-winning
lyricist-composer duo infringed on the hit show’s intellectual property,
according to a complaint filed in the
US District Court in Washington, DC.
اضافة اعلان
Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear staged a “for-profit”,
sold-out show Friday at the Kennedy Center, with ticket prices ranging up to
$149, without Netflix’s permission, the lawsuit filed Friday asserts. Barlow
and Bear have also promoted branded merchandise, and have plans for a future
performance at the Royal Albert Hall in
London, according to the suit.
Barlow and Bear, who first gained popularity filming
“Bridgerton”-themed TikToks, won this year’s Grammy Award for best musical
theater album, beating Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cinderella” and Conor McPherson’s
“Girl From the North Country”. The 15-song “Unofficial Bridgerton Musical”
album included songs written from the perspectives of the Netflix show’s
central couple, Daphne Bridgerton and Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings, and
was shaped by feedback from the composers’ social media audience.
“Netflix supports fan-generated content, but Barlow
& Bear have taken this many steps further, seeking to create multiple
revenue streams for themselves without formal permission to utilize the
‘Bridgerton’ IP,” Netflix said in a statement via email. “We’ve tried hard to
work with Barlow & Bear, and they have refused to cooperate.”
Barlow and Bear did not immediately respond to a
request for comment Monday. In an interview with the Times after winning the
Grammy, they said that Netflix had given their lawyers the green light for them
to turn their songs into an album. But when asked at the time if the musical
was likely to be staged in the future, Bear said, “It’s a bit out of our court
because we don’t own the IP.”
Among the specific objections in the lawsuit, it
claims that the musical’s opening track, “Tis the Season”, uses dialogue
similar to that spoken by Lady Whistledown, the town’s gossip writer, in the TV
series, and says that the track “If I Were a Man” mirrors the character Eloise
Bridgerton’s desire to escape the cage of marriage.
Netflix has sued Barlow and Bear on four counts
including copyright infringement and infringement of registered trademarks. The
lawsuit stated that Netflix had been willing to negotiate a license which would
permit live performances and album distribution, but the pair refused.
The “Bridgerton” series, produced by Shonda Rhimes
and based on romance novels by Julia Quinn, details 19th-century England’s
marriage market with modern-day twists, reflecting a diverse cast and classical
takes on pop music hits.
“There is so much joy in seeing audiences fall in
love with Bridgerton and watching the creative ways they express their fandom,”
Rhimes wrote in a statement. “What started as a fun celebration by Barlow &
Bear on social media has turned into the blatant taking of intellectual
property solely for Barlow & Bear’s financial benefit.”
Following Barlow and Bear’s album release, according
to the suit, Netflix informed the two that it would not authorize live
performances that might conflict with events like “The Queen’s Ball: A
Bridgerton Experience”, which Netflix has staged in several cities. Guests can
interact with “Bridgerton”-themed characters within a Regency-era setting at
the events, complete with ballgowns and live music from the show’s soundtrack.
Quinn, who described Barlow and Bear as wildly
talented, wrote in a statement that she was delighted when they began
performing on TikTok and composing songs dedicated to “Bridgerton”, On the
other hand, there is a difference between posting on TikTok and seeking
commercial gain, she wrote.
“I would hope that
Barlow & Bear, who share my position as independent creative professionals,
understand the need to protect other professionals’ intellectual property,
including the characters and stories I created in the ‘Bridgerton’ novels over
20 years ago,” Quinn wrote.
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