Warner Brothers Studios gets injunction against area business man who had been selling "Free Michael" t-shirts outside of the Santa Maria Courthouse where Michael Jackson was being tried for alleged c
April 1, 2005 (Press Release) --
Warner Brothers Studios received injunction against Santa Maria marketing consultant Andre Bell who had been selling "Free Michael" t-shirts outside of the Santa Maria Courthouse where Michael was being tried for alleged child molestation charges.
"Warner Brothers Studios got involved because the t-shirts represent infringement of our intellectual property in a negative/diminutive/foul/offensive light."
The t-shirts in question were illustrated with Michael Jackson jumping over Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon similar to the whale in Free Wiley.
The difference here is that District Attorney Tom Sneddon is below Michael Jackson defiantly displaying a foul hand gesture.
Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville ruled Wednesday that the t-shirts represent a threat to the integrity of the trial and granted an injunction stopping all sales of the shirts both publicly and online through André’s web site of www.andrebell.com
"This is an outrage", Andre Bell said. "Parody is protected from copyright violations by the first amendment. These shirts are clearly a parody of the Free Wiley movie image in which a popular Michael Jackson song was selected as the theme of the movie." André further stated.
Andre has registered two new domain names not named in the injunction where he plans to continue selling his parody "Free Michael" t-shirts and other promotional items.
Warner Brothers Studios could not be reached for further comments.
"Warner Brothers Studios got involved because the t-shirts represent infringement of our intellectual property in a negative/diminutive/foul/offensive light."
The t-shirts in question were illustrated with Michael Jackson jumping over Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon similar to the whale in Free Wiley.
The difference here is that District Attorney Tom Sneddon is below Michael Jackson defiantly displaying a foul hand gesture.
Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville ruled Wednesday that the t-shirts represent a threat to the integrity of the trial and granted an injunction stopping all sales of the shirts both publicly and online through André’s web site of www.andrebell.com
"This is an outrage", Andre Bell said. "Parody is protected from copyright violations by the first amendment. These shirts are clearly a parody of the Free Wiley movie image in which a popular Michael Jackson song was selected as the theme of the movie." André further stated.
Andre has registered two new domain names not named in the injunction where he plans to continue selling his parody "Free Michael" t-shirts and other promotional items.
Warner Brothers Studios could not be reached for further comments.
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