Netflix files a lawsuit against the purported Bridgerton copycats

Bridgerton is one of Netflix’s most popular period shows, and on Friday, the company sued the makers of an unlicensed musical stage adaptation of the show, claiming that they had infringed on its copyright.

Three days after a sold-out performance of “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical” at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., a federal lawsuit was filed against Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear.

Reuters, July 29 – “Bridgerton” is a popular historical drama on Netflix, and on Friday the company sued the authors of an alleged unlicensed musical stage play, accusing them of copyright infringement as the demand for their TikTok imitation grew.

Three days after a sold-out performance of “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical” at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., a federal lawsuit was filed against Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear.

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One of the defendants’ attorneys had no quick reaction to the lawsuit since he hadn’t yet seen it.

First four weeks of Netflix’s “Bridgerton,” based on Julia Quinn’s best-selling romance books, earned a record 82 million viewers. “The Queen’s Ball,” a spin-off series and live event that took place in six locations, was renewed for a second season.

On TikTok, where the defendants had more than 2 million followers, the defendants began posting about “Bridgerton” in December 2020, including songs based on the characters, dialogue and narrative themes.
An record called “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical,” which received a Grammy Award, was released by the defendants despite repeated warnings from the firm.

This behaviour “began on social media, but goes much beyond the boundaries of fan fiction,” Netflix added. As far as intellectual property rights are concerned, it’s a clear violation.

With a sold-out audience at the Kennedy Center in Washington this week for Netflix’s live “Bridgerton” experience, Barlow and Bear’s musical took to the stage.
Netflix claims that the Kennedy Center performance “attracted ‘Bridgerton’ enthusiasts who would have otherwise attended the ‘Bridgerton’ Experience and generated doubt as to whether Netflix had approved of Barlow & Bear’s unlawful derivative works.

According to the lawsuit, a concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall in September is on the books.

Barlow & Bear began out as a “fun celebration” on social media, but they’ve now transformed into a “blatant taking of intellectual property purely for Barlow & Bear’s commercial profit,” according to Shonda Rhimes, the show’s creator and executive producer.

When Barlow and Bear started writing ‘Bridgerton’ songs and shared them with their fellow admirers on TikTok, author Quinn said she was “flattered and happy.” TikTok composition is different from recording and performing for commercial benefit, she stated in a statement.

Unspecified damages are sought as part of the lawsuit’s goals.

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