DON'T QUIT - 2nd BDAY BASH - MORE GUESTS! — Page 2

I don't know if Disney can do anything to keep the video from showing up on Youtube. If the people at Don't Quit your Night Job want to post it they have every right. I understand that what Brown did distroyed in one fell swoop the wholesome image Disney trys to have with their shows. However, freedom of speech says that Brown had every right to go on the stage of the Zipper and sing the song the way she did. And, the folks at DQYNJ have ever right to post it on youtube. My guess is that they are going to post it there and if they think having it up there is going to be a problem they would at least leave it up there for as long as they could.

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I think that is absolutely the dumbest thing in the world. Can't they take a joke? I guess you all have answered that question. I guess Disney Executives or whoever would get offended by DQYNJ have not watched SNL either. I really want to see this again too.

Yeah, the opening was funny. It reminded me of my birthday one year when we went to Applebees. One of my sisters got there before the rest of us, and told them that it was my birthday. Well, later they came out singing some rediculous song, and it was a huge group of them too. Of course later on, my mom had to be embarrassing at home telling everyone who wasn't there about it, and performing it a million times. Yeah, I will now never go there again on my birthday. :)

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The opening skit is just lovely. Julia rocks my socks.

Please do explain.

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That makes no sense becuse Disney legally can't say what their actors can and cannot do during their off time. Also, equity wouldn't allow it. I am sure Disney would love it if every cast member in a disney show did the whole stage door thing that way disney could continue having the reputation of being nice to the fans. But, the only thing Disney has controll over is what the actors do and don't do when they are at work at their theatres.

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Winston, had she gone on and performed a song by someone else, they wouldn't have a leg to stand on. (And it wouldn't have been NEARLY as funny!) It's a Disney song. It's one of the most famous Disney songs ever. I think it's pretty simple.

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Updated On: 6/28/08 at 10:47 AM

There is a difference between spoofing and performing a song with roughly 25 words replaced. She wasn't spoofing anything. The song was performed as a madlib and they own the song. Could they get away with posting it on YouTube? Probably, but Disney could make trouble for DQYNJ and they could give Ashley a hard time for being the one to perform the copywritten material.

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How dirty was it?

JerseyGirl your incorrect. In order for it to be considered an issue of copyright it would have had to have been an unauthorized version of the song as it was originally written. An example of an unauthorized version of the song would be if Brown was recording her own CD and she put that song on the CD without getting permission from Disney first. That would be an unauthorized version of the song. However, it is considered a spoof or satire when they change things. They changed a few words in the song. So it isn't a copyright issue because they changed lyrics. The issue is moved from being one of breaking copyright to one of being legally able to spoof or satire something and not get into trouble with the law for it.

Let me give you an example. Weird Al is known for making a living by doing spoofs and satires of other people's songs. He has gone on the record and said that he asks permission as a professional courtesy. However, if he didn't ask for permission and he went and recorded the satire or spoof he could do that and he couldn't get sued. That is because a satire or a spoof isn't copyright infringement.

Any alteration of a copyright song either music or lyrics is not considered to be the copyright material but rather a spoof of the material. Disney can only copyright one version of Spoonful of Sugar and that is the classic version of the one we know and love. You can't get in trouble by doing a spoofed version of that song. A spoof is any version of any song that isn't the same in either music or lyrics. The version that Ashley sung isn't the same as the original one because the version that she sang had altered lyrics. It doesn't matter if only some of the lyrics are altered. All that matters is that some of the lyrics are altered for it to be considered a spoof or satire. Considering that what brown did was a spoof or a satire version of the song Don't Quit Your Night Job can post it on youtube if they want to without getting flak from Disney because they are not violating any sort of copyright at all.

And, I say spoof or satire for one good reason. And that is legally the same rules that apply to spoofing a song are the same as satire. Avenue Q is considered a satire version of Sesame Street but it is protected under the same laws that a spoof is protected under.

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Disney can't make it difficult for the parties involved because there is no legal standing whatsoever to help out Disney so that they can if they wanted to to be difficult to the people involved. They have no legal standing.

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Updated On: 6/28/08 at 04:32 PM

You are saying that they can't do anything from a legal standpoint. I am not suggesting Disney would sue a small charity show. Disney is huge (and they usually do have a moral clause in their contracts) and employs hundreds of performers, some of which are DQYNJ regulars. They could very easily ask their actors not to participate in the show. Can they legally forbid participation? I doubt it, but many actors, happy to have steady work, will listen. This isn't about what they can do legally, this is about a big company with a lot of pull.

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I know that Disney most likely has moral clauses in their contract. I am not saying that I don't see why they didn't put it up on youtube. I am saying that the reasons why they didn't are stupid. Disney wouldn't fire Brown (or any Disney actor on Broadway for that matter) for doing this kind of thing. Mainly because them politly asking and them forbidding her do do this kind of show under contract are two different things. If for example Disney heard about what she did and politly asked her not to do it and they fire her or threaten to fire her she could come back at them and say that what I did didn't violate my contract in any form therefor you don't have any standing to fire me.

The reason why I am making a big deal about this is that Disney's urge to keep their image pure and safe for children can't go on forever. And, their constent fight to prevent that is a loosing battle and they have yet to realize that. This song was a spoof. This isn't the first Disney song to be spoofed at all. There are hundereads of them on Youtube I am sure. I don't see this spoof being any different then the ones that have been made and the ones that are up on Youtube.

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Spelling doesn't matter on a message board. You don't get on someone's case for misspelling during a text message or an instant message do you?

In this day and age there is a huge difference between typing something in a social setting like a text message email or an instant message or yes a message board. And, typing something that is formal. A message board falls under the context of things that are more social or have to do with interaction on a computer rather then let's say an essay that your submitting for a class.

If your talking to your friends no one really is going to care or jump on you if you don't use 100 per cent proper english or if you use slang. However, if your in a very formal setting you should try to avoid things like slang.

Considering that a message board is an online version of a social setting I don't go out of my way to spell bad. But, on the same token I don't go out of my way to fully edit it either.

And, I was making arguments based on what the law says for something that is a parody or a spoof. I think you missed the part where I said I understand why the people at Don't Quit your night job aren't posting the video but I disagree with them and if they wanted to they would have every right.

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Broadwayworld is the same as any other message board online. It is an online social setting. BWW is no special then any other message board out there in this respect. In typing in an online social setting spelling and grammar do not matter as much as they would if it is a formal writing assignment. I feel that the people who do attack others for their spelling on this site use that as a pot shot against someone because they want to say something against them and don't have any ammo to use.

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