Keeling v. Hars
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a
district court in a rare instance where a playwright's
derivative work—a parody—fell within the fair use
doctrine and acquired sufficient originality to warrant independent
copyright protections. Keeling v. Hars, Case No. 13-694
(2nd Cir., Oct. 30, 2015) (Cabranes, J.).
Plaintiff Jaime Keeling wrote a script for a stage play called
Point Break LIVE! The play was a parody of the 1991 film
Point Break, starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. Although Ms.
Keeling incorporated the characters, plot, and dialogue of the
film, she added jokes, props, exaggerated staging and humorous
theatrical devices to the parody play. In particular, the script
called for a member of the audience to read Keanu Reeves's
character lines from a cue card to mock the actor's
"reputedly stilted performance."
