Abstract:

This article delves into the degree of recognition that parodies are provided under the Laws of United States of America.The American laws are specially undertakento impliedly showcase the fact that even though the US laws are federal and different between states, specific laws or provisions like that of copyright law and its sections explained in this article are accepted regardless of the existence of different laws in different states. The evolution of the legal recognition of parodies and their legal treatment has been underscored in this article with relevant case laws that depict the importance of recognising a parody. The perception of the laws of the US with regard to parodies has been discussed and its evolution from being unacceptable under the laws to being considered one of the most important forms of influence among the public through satire, criticism, or comment to an original creation. A brief analysis has been provided to understand the legal justification provided to parodies by the US laws through the concept of “fair use.” The article, for the purpose of exhibiting a clear understanding of the stance of the United States laws regarding parodies, has employed a comparative analysis between an original work and its parody which is essentially “Twilight,” the movie, and its parody movie “Vampires Suck.” A movie parody is specifically chosen to express the influential and commanding nature of parodies, although they technically are copyrighted works that gain legal security from the US laws. Therefore, the article offers a simultaneous interplay of the comparison along with the explanation of copyright laws dealing with parodies. In additionto this, the article emphasizes the strong position taken by the US courts in safeguarding the copyright interests of the original creators as well. Therefore, the article is a comprehensive analysis of the rigidity in maintaining a middle ground while deciding copyright cases involving parodies. This is further added with the proven fact which is the amount of support the US courts lend towards legally protecting parodies by identifying them as catalysts of influence in productive areas including academia, politics etc.

Keywords: US laws, Parody, Original creation, Fair use, Copyright Laws

The Parodical Protection: Understanding the US copyright laws through a Comparative analysis between the movie Twilight and its parody Vampire Sucks

Introduction:

The space existing to express one’s opinions and criticisms and also a means to commend another individual’s creation presented in a satirical or hilarious way, deriving the style from that individual’s work becomes a parody.[1] A parody, generally along with this, assumes the form of a humorous creative work with the intent to shape or influence a contemporary societal position or a situation.[2]The recognitionof the efficiency of parodies was early recognized during the Aristotle period.[3] Parodies are created due to their undeniable nature of lobbying attention from the audience or the public at large.[4]Further, movies being widely seen by a wide community of audience has become arguably one of the top creators of parodies. One such movie that succeeded as a parody is “Vampires Suck”. This movie is the parody of one of the most popular novels, that was later filmed into a movie sequel – “Twilight.”

A Parodical explanation: Vampire’s Suck parody of Twilight

The Vampires Suck parody of Twilight revolves around the story where a teen girl, Becca, grappling with her puberty hitand dealing with a mixed bag of feelings and her own sense of insecurities like that of Bella Swan, who is the original character in the Twilight original movie series. Eventually, Becca the parodical version of Bella finds herself in a love triangle between a blood-sucking vampire and a kind-hearted werewolf just like that of the original storyline in Twilight. The vampire and the werewolf found in the parody are the equivalents of the two main characters, Edward Cullen and Jacob Joke in the original twilight film. The parody version is the comedy version of the intense and serious drama of the movie series “Twilight”. The parody incorporates the extractions from the first two films –“Twilight” and “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.” The characters are presented in an extremely comical way serving as the complete opposites of the original character’s creation. The vampire Edward Cullen is shown to be one who is constantly constipating and unreasonably shining due to sun’s rays while the werewolf Jacob Joke is shown to be one who is taking off his shirt every 10 minutes to put on airs his six pack abs as a part of a contractual agreement with Beccain the parody version. The film also hysterically showcases the illogical choices of Becca in the movie Vampires Suck, the parodical version of Bella Swan from Twilight, by portraying situations where she puts herself in extra danger due to her own unreasonable decisions. One such moment funnily shown in the movie is when Becca enters into a forest to meet the werewolves when the vampire whom she previously fell in love with abandons her for the sake of her own safety. In addition, the witty instances such as ripping of the body parts with bare hands address the exaggeration of the original story about the vampires or the werewolves, and references to American pop Gags like that of the Jonas Brothers multiply the satire and the comical aim of the parody.[5]

The Impact of Parody and its Recognition by the US Laws: A brief into the treatment of Parodies by the United States Legal system

The Twilight series’ parody Vampire suck inarguably exhibits the features and the nature of parodies that possibly enhances the amusement of the audience along with impliedly showcasing a tease towards the exaggerations in fictional stories by giving a humorous angle to one of the most horror or intensely serious movies like that of twilight. The legal landscape of the United States of America, despite being federal, recognizes parody as a fair use. The US laws identify the parodies aiming to critically review or function as satirical commentaries as copyrighted works falling under fair use as provided in the codified 17 USC § 107 of the copyright law.[6]

The laws of the United States further do not require permission from the original creator to create a parody. The substantiation of this could be found in the case of Campbell v. Acuff -Rose Music Inc.,510 U.S. 569 (1994)in which the creators of the parodies sought permission from the original creators and were denied of the same. For this, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the permission of the original creators is insignificant as far as the parody is fair.[7] The “fair use” as interpreted by the U.S. Courts,nevertheless possesses its own limitations to not completely render the original creators devoid of the rights to their own works. The limitations to the fair use of the parody are essentially when the parodical work spreads out a confusion between the original creation and the parody in the eyes of the audience or the public. This functions on the ground that parodical works hold a sense of distinction although encompassing similar subject-matter of original works. Parodical works further cannot avail the security under fair use of the US laws when it is exposed to commercialization or for economic benefits.[8] It could also be found that the courts of the US did not extend the protection to parodies, and they were considered to infringe the copyrights during the early days, as cited in the case of Benny v. Loew’s, Inc., 239 F.2d 532 (9th Cir. 1956). However, post to this the courts started evolving eventually lending the security for parodies where a federal judge quoted that parodies are of creations that are used to criticize or comment on original works influencing individualistic and fresh ideas and that they do not infringe the copyrights. This could be found in the case of Adjmi v. DLT Entertainment. Ltd., 97 F.Supp.3d 512 (S.D.N.Y. 2015).[9]

Conclusion:

In conclusion, as for the parody of Twilight, Vampire Sucks has been adjudged as a parody not infringing the copyrights due to their fair use incorporating satirical and comical ways of portraying the characters that also offered a sense of distinction from the original work. Manuel Real, the U.S.District Judge in Los Angeles, quoted between his lines of judgment that Vampire Sucks has been granted permission by the original productions and that they do not cause any trademark dilution that leads to a copyright infringement.[10]Therefore, the copyright laws of the US with regards to parodies can be widely perceived to be protected with the legal recognition of “fair use” while also simultaneously lending support to the original creators.

[1]College of liberal Arts, What is a Parody? || Definition & Examples | | College of Liberal Arts | Oregon State University (last visited Jun. 13, 2024).

[2] Cambridge Dictionary, PARODY | English meaning – Cambridge Dictionary(last visited Jun. 13, 2024).

[3]Davison, Sarah, Modernist Parody: Imitation, Origination, and Experimentation in Early Twentieth-Century Literature (Oxford, 2023; online edn, Oxford Academic, 24 Aug. 2023).

[4]The Benefits And Challenges Of Creating A Parody And How To Share It With The World,The Benefits And Challenges Of Creating A Parody And How To Share It With The World – FasterCapital (last visited Jun. 13, 2024).

[5]‘Vampires Suck’; This ‘Twilight’ spoof does, too,‘Vampires Suck’: This ‘Twilight’ spoof does, too | The Seattle Times(last visited Jun. 13, 2024).

[6]What is Fair Use and What About Parodies?,What is Fair Use and What About Parodies? (cotmanip.com)(last visited Jun. 13, 2024).

[7]Parody,Parody – Copyright – Library Research Guides at Indiana University(last visited Jun. 13, 2024).

[8]Laugh It Off; A Guide to Parody Under U.S. Trademark Law,Laugh It Off: A Guide to Parody Under U.S. Trademark Law – TCAM Today(last visited Jun. 13, 2024).

[9]Supra note, 7.

[10]Matt Reynolds, No Trademark Trouble for ‘Twilight’ Parody, Courthouse News Service, March. 16, 2015, at A1.