Just whose idea is it anyway?

Zasada's weekly commentary on modern life in L.A., "The Urban Man," airs Monday evenings on KCRW radio.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Defining the limits of intellectual property

As the "copyright economy" expands, lawsuits abound. Attorney David Nimmer keeps a file of some particularly creative efforts:

* In 2002, Fun Spot Action Park, an amusement park in Orlando, Fla., sued nearby Magical Midway, claiming the other park had wrongfully imitated the design of its go-kart tracks. Fun Spot won the first round of the legal skirmish.

* In 2003, photographer Penny Gentieu sued a stock photo house for getting other photographers to imitate her way of photographing naked babies against a white background. "Given the impermissibly expansive nature of Gentieu's claims," noted the court, "it is only surprising that she has not asserted a copyright in the universe of babies as well." Gentieu lost big time.

* A photographer whose work was used to sell plastic picture frames in retail stores sued a company in 2003 for copying his disposable paper inserts. The photographer lost.

* In course work toward a marketing degree, Noel Roque Rodriguez came up with a plan for " 'Rumba Caribbean Bar & Cuisine,' intended to capture Puerto Rican traditions and folklore through food, drinks, salsa music and dance." In 2003 he sued a restaurant in Miami for allegedly copying his idea. The judge gave his suit a failing grade.

* In 2002, a novelty company called JCW Investments Inc. sued Novelty Inc. for imitating its "Pull My Finger Fred" doll, which shakes, makes a crude noise and offers scatological cliches when its finger is pulled. For example, Fred says "Silent, but deadly" and "Did somebody step on a duck?" It turned out that neither plaintiff nor defendant developed the idea: Years earlier, someone else had gone on the radio with a sketch titled "Pull My Finger Charlie" showing a hypothetical toy doll that made a similar noise and joked, "Did someone step on a duck?" when its finger was pulled. Still, after a trial tracing flatulence jokes back to Emile Zola, the plaintiff won.

-- M.P.Z.

*

An ever-shrinking public domain

Copyright protections gobble up more and more matter and hold it ever longer -- maybe for a lifetime or two.

*