Entertainment Law Resources
​
  • HOME
  • LAW PRACTICE
    • Mark Litwak
    • Glenn Litwak
    • Pete Wilke
  • ARTICLES & VIDEO CLIPS
    • Video & Audio Clips
  • STORE
  • RESOURCES
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT
  • FAQ
  • SITE MAP

TRUMP SUES WOODWARD  FOR PUBLICATION OF AUDIOTAPES

1/31/2023

1 Comment

 
Donald Trump has filed suit against journalist Bob Woodward claiming that Woodward improperly published  audio tapes of their interviews. The interviews were conducted with  the understanding that that Woodward was authoring a book which was published in September 2021 with the title  Rage. Woodward later decided to separately publish the audio tapes of his interviews with Trump.

Trump alleges that the publication of the audio tapes violates his rights because he only consented for the interviews to be used in the book although no written agreement exists to that effect. The lawsuit names Woodward, Simon & Schuster and the publisher’s parent Paramount Global as defendants and seeks damages of $49.98 million dollars. They have denounced the suit as “without merit.”
The case is likely to be thrown out like other Trump lawsuits. Trump’s lawyers do not seem to understand that one of the requirements for copyright is that the work has to be fixed in a tangible medium of expression to be copyrightable. Extemporaneous conversations are not copyrightable because they have not been fixed in a writing, on audio tape, or some other stable medium. Trump did not record these interviews, Woodward did.

Another requirement for copyright is originality. Here Woodward created  his questions, but not Trump’s answers. So, Woodward  may not own the copyright in Trump’s answers  to his questions, but that does not mean that Trump has a copyright interest in them.

In the Estate of Hemingway v. Random House, Inc. (1966), book author A.E. Hotchner authored a book titled  Papa Hemingway. It incorporated long conversations between the author and Ernest Hemingway. They had been close friends for 13 years and went on drinking escapades and travels together. Hotchner took notes and published several articles incorporating their conversations. Hemingway liked the articles. After Hemingway’s death, his estate sues Hotchner, seeking an injunction against the book and damages for infringement of common-law copyright. The court refused to find that Hemingway had any rights in their conversations.

In the case of Falwell v. Penthouse Int'l, Ltd., Jerry Falwell an evangelical fundamentalist minister objected when interviews with  him were published in softcore porn magazine Penthouse. Falwell claimed  that the interview appeared without his consent and contrary to specific conditions given orally to the defendants at the time of the interviews. Reverend Falwell objected to his interview appearing in this publication. However, the court found against Falwell stating:

Plaintiff's claim of copyright is not founded on any existing principle of law, nor is it even analogous  to any of the circumstances which heretofore have been contemplated by the courts. Plaintiff's claim of copyright presupposes that every utterance he makes is a valuable property right. If this were true, the courts would be inundated with claims from celebrities and public figures all of whom may argue that their expressions should also be afforded the extraordinary protection of copyright. Such a result was never contemplated  by the development of the law regarding common law copyright, and such a result would run counter to the firmly established constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and of the press. Falwell v. Penthouse Int'l, Ltd., 521 F. Supp. 1204, 1207-08 (W.D. Va. 1981).

Recently a Florida judge ordered Trump and his lawyer to pay nearly $1 million in sanctions to cover the legal costs of Hillary Clinton and others sued by Trump alleging a conspiracy to target him for criminal prosecution.
 
Read the Rage lawsuit.
 

1 Comment
Pamela S. Evers
2/2/2023 11:17:27 am

Thank you for posting this. You provide an understandable explanation of just some of the complexities of copyright law that I will share (giving you credit, of course) with my business law students and my fellow English PhD students. As always, your newsletters are most appreciated.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    August 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    February 2012
    December 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    April 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    February 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    January 2009

    Disclaimer: The information in this blog post (“post”) is provided for general informational purposes only and may not reflect the current law in your jurisdiction. No information contained in this post should be construed as legal advice from the individual author, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter. No reader of this post should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information included in, or accessible through, this Post without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer licensed in the recipient’s state, country or other appropriate licensing jurisdiction.
    For older posts, please visit The Litwak Blog.
    Join our Email Newsletter list
    Email Newsletter icon, E-mail Newsletter icon, Email List icon, E-mail List icon
    For Email Newsletters you can trust
Picture
Home
Law Practice
Store
Articles & Video Clips
Resources

Blog

Contact
FAQ
Site Map

LAW OFFICES OF
MARK LITWAK & ASSOCIATES

201 Santa Monica Blvd.
Suite 300
Santa Monica, California 90401
Phone: 310-859-9595
Law2@marklitwak.com


Follow us on
Join our Email Newsletter list
Email Newsletter icon, E-mail Newsletter icon, Email List icon, E-mail List icon
For Email Newsletters you can trust
Copyright  2013-2021, Mark Litwak. All Rights Reserved.│ Legal Disclaimer │ Terms of Use & Copyright    │  Privacy Policy