Jared Edwards worked for the comedy family for a decade and wrote jokes about women who prey upon wealthy men. He claims he pitched the idea for a book that would include material like "You know you're a golddigger when you know more about sports players' stats than an ESPN analyst."
Keenen, Shawn and Marlon Wayans rejected the idea, and then allegedly did their own version.
Joke theft allegations have been around almost as long as the first "Knock, Knock" joke, but recently, comedians have become more sensitive to laugh larceny, raising the copyright infringement card.
Because Edwards worked for the Wayans brothers, this case goes a bit above and beyond the typical plagiarism routine of a plaintiff struggling to prove the copying of expression rather than theft of unprotected ideas. Edwards is claiming that the Wayans (and St. Martin's Press) not only committed copyright infringement but also breached an implied promise to pay him for use of his ideas. Writers alleging this type of allegation have increasingly been successful in passing judicial muster.
To sum up the defense, you know you're a golddigging joke-theft plaintiff when:
* You can't be the owner of a valid copyright on jokes when the material is a work-made-for-hire.
* You can't own undivided rights on the jokes when, at most, the material was jointly authored.
* You consented to having the jokes performed by the famous Wayans clan.
* You didn't complain in time, and thus the statute of limitations has run out.
The trial is sure to provide some laughter and entertainment, but might not have the full shock value possible.
That's because the parties have stipulated that certain alleged "bad acts" won't be brought up, including allegations that Edwards committed check fraud and borrowed $12,000 from Shawn, that Edwards engaged in sexual acts in Shawn's vehicle, and that Edwards threw a phone at Marlon.
Still, the trial won't be devoid of highjinks. There's been a suggestion made in court papers that the attorney for the Wayans brothers will attempt to impeach Edwards for things he said during the deposition.
Finally, even if the Wayans brothers lose, they might not have to fork over a significant amount of money.
The book was hardly a best-seller, and so the judge has capped a damage award to the amount of money the Wayans got as an advance for writing the book, foreclosing any of the publisher's profits.
*This is crazy! One would think that the Wayan's wouldn't have to steal a joke from anyone. They seem to be funny all on their own without the help of people writing for them.
However, you never know what goes on behind closed doors. It seems this guy ( Jared Edwards )feels bamboozled by the brothers over the book ("You Know You're a Golddigger When...")
which didn't even sell that well. One has to ask, is he looking for 15 mins of fame by bringing about a lawsuit against a famous family? Who knows, maybe he's just upset regarding something else.
If this goes to court, he might get something. Then again maybe not.
The bigger picture is, this guy wants fame outside of working for this family, if that's the case; why doesn't he write his own book of jokes and publish it?*
Diva's Nation
*Join The "Wayans Brothers" Conversation*
No comments:
Post a Comment