Late Night, Early Dismissal: The Santos-Kimmel Copyright Case

A New York Judge dismissed former Rep. George Santos’ lawsuit against Jimmy Kimmel Live over the late-night host’s use of personalized Cameo videos in one of his segments. Scott Hervey and Tara Sattler discuss this decision on this installment of The Briefing.

Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here.

 

Show Notes:

Scott:
I can see the situation unfolding in the writer’s room for Jimmy Kimmel Live. How can they show that former US Representative George Santos would say just about anything for money and have that be extremely funny? The resulting prank video skit got a bunch of laughs and a copyright lawsuit. However, a recent decision by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York ended Santos’ lawsuit. I’m Scott Hervey from Weintraub Tobin, and I’m joined today by my colleague Tara Sattler, to discuss this case and its implications on the television and media industry on today’s installment of the briefing. Tara, welcome back. It’s great to have you.

Tara:
Thanks, Scott. I’m glad to be here.

Scott:
Tara, by chance, have you seen these George Santos cameo videos?

Tara:
I have, and they really are quite hilarious.

Scott:
Yeah, they are. I could see why the writers for Jimmy Kimmel Live pitch this. But why don’t you give our listeners a quick summary of the facts?

Tara:
Certainly, this case stems from George Santos creating personalized videos on the Cameo platform after he was expelled from Congress. Jimmy Kimmel and his show created fake cameo accounts and requested 14 absurd videos from Santos, which they received and then aired on Jimmy Kimmel Live as part of a segment called Will Santos Say It? As part of the segment, Kimmel made jokes about Santos, including about his federal wire fraud case to which Santos pled guilty. Now, the Cameo terms of service say that the talent, who in this case would be Santos, owns the copyright in the video. Cameo offers two types of to the user who requests the video. However, both licenses specifically exclude television exploitation.

Scott:
Right. If you’re Santos, you’re thinking, I own the copyright, and the license granted to the account owner specifically excludes television. So, of course, Santos, Seuss, Kimmel, ABC, and Disney for copyright infringement and a couple of related claims. Disney and the rest of the defendants moved to dismiss, arguing that their use of the videos constituted fair use. The court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss. The key issue was whether Kimmel’s use of the videos qualified as fair use under copyright law. Now, as we know, Tara, because you and I have done a lot of podcasts on the Andy Warhol Foundation Supreme Court case, this case is post-Warhol, which essentially tightened up fair use, where the focus is on the purpose of the use and whether purpose justifies the copying.

Tara:
True. We recall that the Supreme Court in Warhol specifically called out criticism as a purpose that justifies copying.

Scott:
That’s exactly what the defendant said and what the court relied on in finding fair use. The court said that Kimmel’s use was clearly for the purpose of criticism and commentary on a newsworthy public figure. The court emphasized that Kimmel was using the videos to criticize Santos’s willingness to say absurd things for money shortly after being expelled from Congress for, albeit fraudulent activity. The court saw this as political commentary that did supersede the original purpose of the videos.

Tara:
There was some interesting discussion about the fake accounts that late-night showwriters used to solicit these videos. The court acknowledged that Kimmel’s conduct may have been deceptive, but that doesn’t matter for fair use purposes. Sources. They cited Warhol for the fact that fair use is an objective inquiry into how the work is used, not the subjective intent or good faith of the user. So, while Kimmel’s methods may have been questionable, that didn’t negate the transformative nature of how the videos were ultimately used on his show.

Scott:
Now, as for the other fair use factors, the court found the second factor, the nature of the copyrighted work, that weighed slightly against fair use as the videos had some creative elements. However, the court said that this factor rarely plays a significant role. A bit more interesting is the court’s treatment of the third factor, the amount and substantiality of the work used. Despite the fact that Kimmel used the full video, the court found this factor was neutral. The court said that using the full video was reasonable given the transformative purpose.

Tara:
That is really interesting. Generally, where the full work is used, that actually tends to weigh against the third fair use factor.

Scott:
Right, that’s true. We’ve seen that before. But here the court said, the use of the videos to criticize and comment on a public figure would have been undermined by showing less than the entirety of the videos because the audience would not know whether Santos had indeed said everything in the request. So I can certainly see this portion of the opinion being cited in future fair use arguments.

Tara:
I think you’re right, Scott. For the fourth factor, effect on the market, Santos had a unique claim. He claimed that the defendant’s use devalued the market for cameo videos, including Santos’s, by undermining the integrity of the cameo platform.

Scott:
That’s right. He did say that, but the court didn’t buy it. The court found no evidence of harm to the market for Santos’s videos beyond the critical use at issue. The court also emphasized the public benefit of allowing criticism and commentary. In reviewing all the factors, the court found fair use was so clearly established that they could dismiss the copyright claim at this very early stage.

Tara:
There are a few key takeaways from this case. First is that post-war hall, criticism and commentary remain a good way for establishing a successful fair use argument. If the defendant can show that the use has critical bearing on the original work, the use will likely be found to be transformative.

Scott:
The second is Santos’s status as a public figure and how that tied into the deceptive methods Kimmel used to obtain the videos. The opinion seems to imply that using deceptive methods to obtain content from public figures for commentary purposes may be viewed more favorably than similar tactics used on private individuals.

Tara:
I definitely think that the broader context of political commentary and public benefit played a big role in the court’s findings. This is something to consider. Defendants may have a stronger fair use argument when their content contributes to important public discussions.

Scott:
That’s true. Very true. Tara, thanks for joining us today.

Tara:
Thanks, Scott, for inviting me to join you today. And that’s all for today’s episode of The Briefing. Thank you also to the listener or viewer for tuning in. We hope you found this episode informative and enjoyable. And if you did, please remember to subscribe, leave us a review, and share this episode with your friends and colleagues. And if you have any questions about the topic we covered today, please leave us a comment.