Netflix Inc on Friday sued the creators of an alleged unauthorized musical stage production of its series Bridgerton knockoff
Popular Streaming giants, Netflix has sued the creators of an alleged unauthorized musical stage production of its popular period drama “Bridgerton” accusing them of copyright infringement after building demand for their knockoff on TikTok.
The complaint was filed against Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear in the federal court in Washington, three days after a sold-out performance of “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical” in that city’s Kennedy Center.
Bridgerton is based on Julia Quinn’s bestselling romance novels. It has 82 million viewers in the first four weeks of the series’ debut on Netflix. It was again renewed for a second season.
Series creator Shonda Rhimes stated after the suing:
“so much joy” in seeing audiences fall in love with “Bridgerton” and find creative ways to express their appreciation, “what started as a fun celebration by Barlow & Bear on social media has turned into the blatant taking of intellectual property solely for Barlow & Bear’s financial benefit.”
The company said after Bridgerton was first released in December 2020, the defendants started posting about the series on TikTok where they had 2.4 million followers including creating songs based on characters, scenes, dialogue and plot points.
They also said that it warned the defendants repeatedly to stop but they went ahead with an album titled “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical,” which won a Grammy award, and their stage show.
Netflix said,
“Barlow & Bear’s conduct began on social media, but stretches ‘fan fiction’ well past its breaking point, “It is a blatant infringement of intellectual property rights.”
This week, Barlow and Bear’s music was performed in front of a sold-out crowd at the Kennedy Center in Washington, where Netflix was hosting its own live “Bridgerton” experience. The Kennedy Center show “attracted Bridgerton fans who would have otherwise attended the Bridgerton Experience and created confusion as to whether Netflix had approved of Barlow & Bear’s unauthorized derivative works,” Netflix said in the lawsuit.
A September performance is planned for Royal Albert Hall in London, the suit claims.
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