Supreme Court allows Rosa Parks to sue OutKast

[ncho]

in light of the recent discussions re: fair use of names (bands, people, place, etc)....rosa parks finally got the go ahead to sue OutKast claiming violation of her trademark rights....
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Supreme Court allows Rosa Parks to sue OutKast
http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/08/scotus.parks.ap/index.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court refused Monday to intervene in a lawsuit over the hit song "Rosa Parks" by the Grammy-winning musical group OutKast.

The action, taken without comment from the justices, means the 90-year-old civil rights figure can go ahead with her lawsuit against the band.

The 1998 song is about the entertainment industry and its lyrics do not refer to Parks by name. The chorus of the song goes, "Ah-ha, hush that fuss. Everybody move to the back of the bus."

Parks claimed that OutKast violated her publicity and trademark rights and defamed her. She lost her first round in federal court, but a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, reinstated part of the lawsuit earlier this year.

The case will now return to a lower federal court judge.

Parks wants all references to her removed from future versions of the record.

OutKast has argued that the song is neither false advertising nor a violation of Parks' publicity rights and is protected by the First Amendment.

Parks made history in December 1955 when she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus. Her arrest triggered a 381-day boycott of the bus system by blacks and led to court rulings desegregating public transportation nationwide.

The case is LaFace Records v. Parks, 03-504.

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peace,
-g-

['Magic' Juan]

I get the feeling that it wasn't her idea in the first place to take Outkast to court. This is a shame, though, as Outkast is one of the more positive outfits in Hip-hop today.

magic_juan

[Brut by Faberge]

Maybe she should consider suing all the thug fucks and their label pimps who strategically shit on everything she fought for.

[YUJI-SAN]

Originally posted by THX-1138:
Maybe she should consider suing all the thug fucks and their label pimps who strategically shit on everything she fought for. word

[Ish]

Originally posted by YUJI-SAN:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by THX-1138:
Maybe she should consider suing all the thug fucks and their label pimps who strategically shit on everything she fought for. word </font>[/QUOTE]word ^ 2

[dj c-los]

How much is she asking for in damages?

[Jay Rags]

Something just isn't right with this, to me. graemlins/acclaim.gif

[MYOR]

This is the biggiest BS, and the fact that the Courts even entertains this.. shows how stupid our court system truelly is...

[Bold Soul]

That whole generation of negroes is seriously wacked, IMO.

[Brut by Faberge]

Originally posted by Danny Gardner:
That whole generation of negroes is seriously wacked, IMO. Are you serious? I kinda like my grandparents.

[DLow]

I have a hard time believing Rosa Parks is spearheading this lawsuit. It sounds like an uptight son/daughter of hers.

[DJ RON C]

I am truly shocked that she is seriously doing this too. Everyone knows Outkast is positive through and through.... graemlins/cool_shades.gif

[Brut by Faberge]

Originally posted by Derrick:
I have a hard time believing Rosa Parks is spearheading this lawsuit. It sounds like an uptight son/daughter of hers. i think so as well Derrick. An estate manager may be backing this. I find it heard to believe that at 90 years of age she could give a flying fuk.

[ December 08, 2003, 03:23 PM: Message edited by: THX-1138 ]

[shanequa sanchez]

it's definitely about money...look at mlk and his legacy. and how his family has controlled everything related to his ideas, and images and portrayals...talk about MONEY!!
eric michael dyson does a nice job covering this in his book "May Not Get There With You"...and it seems to me a similar thing is going on here...

[mhd]

surely, you are not saying that king's family should not control his image? as for rosa, you would think that laface would have fixed this instead of fighting ms. parks, i'm sure they have spent over 100k already,

[Fletch]

Originally posted by Danny Gardner:
That whole generation of negroes is seriously wacked, IMO. Careful. Some folk take that statment as worse than the time them cats mugged Ms. Parks years ago.

[Bold Soul]

Originally posted by Fletch:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Danny Gardner:
That whole generation of negroes is seriously wacked, IMO. Careful. Some folk take that statment as worse than the time them cats mugged Ms. Parks years ago. </font>[/QUOTE]Not worried about "some folk". Why should Rosa Parks' mugging be any worse than anyone elses? Why does anyone who had a passing relevance to the civil wrongs movement consider themselves DEIFIED?

This is as embarassing as when Jackson-Sharpton went after MGM and Ice Cube for "Barbershop". Further evidence that the negro elite is soooo out of touch with the Black youth.

[shanequa sanchez]

posted December 08, 2003 03:42 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
surely, you are not saying that king's family should not control his image? as for rosa, you would think that laface would have fixed this instead of fighting ms. parks, i'm sure they have spent over 100k already,
__________________________________________________

read the book...

[ngeso]

i don't know. maybe she doesn't want to figurehead present day ideas. maybe she doesn't want to be a political 'brand' 50 years down the road. maybe she's tired. she's 90 years old - it didn't even strike me until two minutes ago that she is still alive.

maybe she didn't want to be part of an 'effect'. while i'm sure that Outcast - as artists with an awareness of their celebrity, with a message and with responsibilities, i imagine - would not purposely slander her name or that, for which she stands historically, one cannot deny that naming something - a song, a piece of writing, a product, whatever - in her name is going to have a particular effect and generate a particular attention or publicity that someone of a standing such as Rosa Parks' might have issues with?

maybe she feels her fight is over and she wants some peace.

these are just ideas of mine. i don't know my way around American history very well - although i have read about Rosa Parks.

nuff respect to all opinions voiced so far.

peace. ngeso.

[Fletch]

mhd's right. This should have settled a looooooong time ago!!!!! If certiori was applied for, I'm sure the costs were much more than $100K.

[Hippie]

I'm sorry I'm a little confused I thought the original post said she wants them to take her name from any future releases. Doesn't sound like a money thing to me! I may be wrong though!

[AK]

Originally posted by MYOR:
This is the biggiest BS, and the fact that the Courts even entertains this.. shows how stupid our court system truelly is... Having appeared before the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, "stupid" is a word that comes to mind.