Historically, fan works have sometimes been deemed legal under the fair use doctrine, which states that some copyrighted material can be used without explicit permission. “It is blatant infringement of intellectual property rights.”īut the legal reality isn’t as cut-and-dry as Netflix’s complaint makes it out to be. “Barlow & Bear’s conduct began on social media, but stretches ‘fan fiction’ well past its breaking point,” Netflix’s lawsuit reads. “This is what law school exams are made of.” Is the ‘Bridgerton Musical’ legal? It’s complicated. “It’s a very interesting fair use case,” said Casey Fiesler, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Boulder who studies internet law and fandom. Barlow and Bear did not have permission from Netflix to stage their ticketed event, but according to legal experts, Netflix’s permission is irrelevant to the question of copyright infringement. Netflix, according to its own characterization in its lawsuit, said that it wouldn’t authorize the activity, but also wouldn’t “ in the way.”įor Netflix, the Kennedy Center performance was a step too far. In a time of financial strain and subscriber loss for the streamer, the Regency-era romance is important IP.īarlow and Bear’s lawyers first approached Netflix in March 2021, asking for the streaming giant’s blessing of a recorded album and a charity show.
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With tickets ranging between $29 and $149, plus VIP upgrades, Netflix put its foot down after “ repeated objections,” demanding an end to these for-profit performances.īased on novels by Julia Quinn, “Bridgerton” has shattered viewership records for Netflix originals. If this project has been gaining steam for over a year, why would Netflix sue now? On July 26, the duo staged a sold-out performance at the Kennedy Center in New York City, featuring The National Symphony Orchestra and a collection of Broadway guest stars. The moment was a milestone, demonstrating the impact of social media on pop culture. Their videos were so popular that Barlow and Bear released an entire musical soundtrack based on “Bridgerton,” then beat out legends like Andrew Lloyd Webber to win the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Musical Album.
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Netflix filed a lawsuit this weekend against two TikTok stars in their early twenties, Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, alleging that their Grammy-winning “Unofficial Bridgerton Musical” project infringed on the copyright of Netflix‘s original series “ Bridgerton.”Įarly last year, the songwriting duo started penning impressive ballads about the popular Netflix show for fun, posting them on TikTok.