Jury Verdict in Jersey Boys Case

[tkx]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 11:36am

http://www.forbes.com/sites/marchershberg/2016/11/29/jury-reaches-verdict-in-jersey-boys-copyright-case/#5c80be0d54ba

Does anyone want to take a guess on the amount of damages?

 

 

[Tag]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 12:00pm

Tommy screws them again!!  Crazy!

10% though, is a hell of a lot.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 12:02pm

Thanks for sharing. The article is very difficult to parse, with much of the important information at the end rather than the beginning... but here's what I got out of it ...

Woodard (The co-writer of DeVito's book)'s widow sued Des McAnuff, Marshall Brickman, and Rick Elice for copying bits of Tommy DeVito's unpublished autobiography in their book for Jersey Boys.

The jury decided that Jersey Boys does in fact infringe on the copyright of the widow of Rex Woodard, with the judge noting 11 specific examples?

Updated On: 11/29/16 at 12:02 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 12:07pm

I was wondering if this case was still going on.

For deeper reading: https://casetext.com/case/corbello-v-devito-26

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 12:08pm

tkx said: "http://www.forbes.com/sites/marchershberg/2016/11/29/jury-reaches-verdict-in-jersey-boys-copyright-case/#5c80be0d54ba

Does anyone want to take a guess on the amount of damages?

 

 

 

"

 

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 12:43pm

Thanks, Lizzie.

I guess the answer to this will be in that document, but if DeVito provided the manuscript to the writing team, did they try to argue that that gave them the right to use it and failed?

Eta: "Plaintiff Donna Corbello is the widow and heir of Rex Woodard, who assisted Defendant Thomas Gaetano "Tommy" DeVito in writing his unpublished autobiography (the "Work"). "

Oh it's not DeVito's widow, it's Woodard's. Ignore my previous post- that Forbes article is again, poorly written. It doesn't mention who the plaintiff is until the bottom of the first page.

Updated On: 11/29/16 at 12:43 PM

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 12:53pm

I wonder if there was even a verbal agreement of some kind. Where one day he just casually said "oh, it's all in my book, just take a look at that."

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 12:56pm

nasty_khakis said: "I wonder if there was even a verbal agreement of some kind. Where one day he just casually said "oh, it's all in my book, just take a look at that.""

 

Yeah, that's what it seems like to me too.

As for damages: "Plaintiff alleges that Jersey Boys has earned profits of approximately $150 million per year, with a life expectancy of at least ten years, and believes she is entitled to at least $6.5 million. "

So 6.5 million. Updated On: 11/29/16 at 12:56 PM

Posted: 11/29/16 at 1:50pm

Interestingly, Christian Hoff once mentioned his role of Tommy DeVito was written specifically for him in La Jolla. He speculated this helped him win the Tony.

Updated On: 11/29/16 at 01:50 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 1:56pm

None of the original cast really came to their full, huh? Hoffa was such a big deal at the time. 

[gypsy101]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 2:04pm

so they're saying they infringed on the copyright of the deceased author even though he didn't have the copyright for the book until after his widow saw the show? that seems strange

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 2:10pm

"so they're saying they infringed on the copyright of the deceased author even though he didn't have the copyright for the book until after his widow saw the show? that seems strange"

I'm no lawyer, and I just skimmed the brief linked above, but it seems like DeVito purposely screwed Woodard out of the credit for the book. They have the draft of the book with the named authors of DeVito & Woodard, and the subsequent draft that just names DeVito and apparently the content is the same.

[tkx]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 5:05pm

Yes. The case does not present DeVito in the most favorable light.

[gypsy101]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 5:50pm

ahhh, i must have missed that when i read the article that DeVito swindled the deceased author. good for that widow then!