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Last month, the estate of cartoonist Al Capp charged Disney with trademark infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition in relation to their attempted use of Sadie Hawkins Day, a concept which Disney refused to pay the licensing fees for in an unaired episode of Lizzie McGuire. The idea of Sadie Hawkins Day originated in the comic strip Lil' Abner in 1937, where the women of the community of Dogpatch have a single day to catch a man, who has no choice but to marry if caught. Today the event is usually used as a theme in high school dances, in which perceived gender roles are reversed, and the girls ask the boys out on a date. Despite it's widespread use, Capp Enterprises considers Sadie Hawkins Day to be its property.
The verdict is in. A U.S. District Court has dismissed the suit. Courtesy of Buzz Dixon on the Oddball Comics message board comes this short piece from Media Life (scroll down). Capp Enterprises is planning an appeal.
Al Capp isn't the only cartoonist to tangle with the law recently. Journalista has linked to the story of political cartoonist Michael Ramirez, who is being investigated by the Secret Service for drawing the cartoon shown above, the irony being that the cartoonist is actually a supporter of Bush. In a statement issued through the newspaper, Ramirez said that he used the image because it represented to him the "political assassination" of Bush.
"We're aware of the image and we're in the process of determining what action if any can be taken," John Gill, Secret Service spokesman, said.
I'm curious to see if there will be any reaction among political cartoonists to these events. Just in case, cartoonist and Emmy nominee Sam Henderson (Congrats, Sam) chimes in over at the Comics Journal Message Board with this bit of acquired wisdom.
"Having been investigated by the Secret Service many years ago (it was entirely my fault), I can guarantee this isn't some kind of partisan post-PATRIOT Act fascism. Like Rich Koller pointed out, they investigate anything that could possibly be a threat and always have, no matter who the President is. As the agent I talked to told me, almost nobody is ever prosecuted, they're doing their job. Even Jesse Helms was once investigated."
The episode Henderson mentions was explained further in an interview conducted by Tom Spurgeon and published in The Comics Journal #209.
"Scott Russo did a comic called Jizz, and one of his features was actual letters to public officials. I was at work one day, and at the time I thought it would be funny to write a letter to the President with his name, saying "Fuck you." So I did. Then the Secret Service came to his house, and his parents assumed he wrote the letter without question. The Secret Service talked to him and saw there was nothing wrong with him. Later they traced the stationary to my workplace and Scott told them that I worked there. They called me and asked me to come to their office." |
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