Why Netflix is Suing BRIDGERTON: THE MUSICAL

Hi friends!! Today, I’m guess I’m Little Miss Woods comma Elle because it’s time for some legal jargon. Today we’re gonna be talking the absolute mess that is Netflix filing a lawsuit against Barlow & Bear and The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical-- LAST WEEK! Why now? What exactly are the legal accusations? And how on EARTH did this even happen? Let's discuss

The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical is a concept album by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear that won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. It is derived from the hit Netflix streaming series "Bridgerton" based on the best selling novels by Julia Quinn. The album was the first Grammy winner to be developed on TikTok, while Barlow and Bear were the youngest nominees and winners ever in their Grammy category. Songs include "If I Were a Man," "Ocean Away," "Tis the Season," and "Burn for You"

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[ms.marvelous]

Not taking the Netflix deal was a huge mistake. Like presumably they were planning to eventually bring it to Broadway in a fully staged and costumed iteration and if they had Netflix’s backing, they could’ve potentially gotten a proshot streaming deal at some point.

[gabriellerose]

i hate taking the side of corporations like netflix but they are in the right for this specific case. you can’t just take someone else’s copyrighted material and perform it as your own.

[zoe_moth]

To me, Netflix is in the right. They created something that became popular and allowed people to create things based on it, but then those people went and made money on something that didn't fully belong to them. You can't be too mad at Netflix for it

[helloitsali.]

i dont want to take the side of a corporation vs talented females in a male dominated industry, but honestly after reading some of the details on the lawsuit, i think it makes sense seeing as they don’t own any of this and went against the agreement they had, especially when they were given an option for a license. i’m just confused how this happened seeing as both abigail and emily know how the industry works. it seems like they’re being DEEPLY misguided, whatever it is, it’s unfortunate for all parties

[amwp]

What really got me was when the author of the original Bridgerton book series, Julia Quinn, spoke out against the musical after the lawsuit. You should look up her comment if you haven’t seen it! She said it beautifully. It’s not just Netflix’s intellectual property, it’s hers as well. Profiting off of a fellow creator’s intellectual property without having the legal right to do so is not cool. I loved the musical concept when it first started, but I definitely think it went too far without going through the proper channels.

[ebandcsproductions]

Sorry, but B&B shot themselves in the foot here. They’re the assholes in this situation. They walked away from a deal that would’ve been amazing. Why they wanted to continue after the letter is beyond me. They did this to themselves, so I don’t feel badly for them. What did they think would happen?

[gabrielleduplessis]

I think when it came to the Grammy, Netflix did not sue because it was still their own original work that won the grammy and people knew it was unofficial.

The big issue is that they threw a concert and charged for tickets and merchandise. Making a stage show meant they “borrowed” characters by Julia Quinn and the Netflix cast and crew. These are not their characters so they should not be making money off of it without permission. Barlow and Behr was given permission for a license, but they refused. They should have taken the opportunity instead of getting (as many people say it) greedy.

[lalalivy]

Honestly idk what they expected . I hate defending corporations but they are in the right for sure . They were fairer than they had to be . Turns out people just can’t take someone else’s work and perform it like that haha .

To add, if they are permitted to get away with this (Barlow and Bear, which they won’t) it sets a dangerous precedent for small creators … oh someone can just say “I like this” and essentially steal a whole story down to the dialogue. Netflix has pull to stop it; small creators may not . Barlow and Bear knew better and they had warning. Just because it would have been more expensive doesn’t give them creative license to proceed when the intellectual property was not theirs to begin with. Even the original author has joined in support of the suit.

[e.c.squared]

Note: lawyers can’t make clients do something. All lawyers do is advise and hope the client takes that advice. I think people are quick to blame the attorneys when B&B could have gotten cocky and done their own thing despite sound legal advice.

[gilded_lady]

I don't feel bad for them. Netflix gave them the chance to do this all aboveboard and they refused. Plus, Netflix could sue them a second time if they deliberately tried to damage the brand as a result of the lawsuit. They made the mess they're now in, hope it doesn't cost them their shirts.

[floraposteschild]

Nobody (except the International Olympic Committee) wants to be the big, bad organization suing the little guys. But Barlow and Bear are way over the line now -- the "the little guys" have Broadway stars performing at the Kennedy Centre. Come one!

[Karina_Leigh]

I don't feel bad for B&B at all. Netflix has been in contact with them all along and very clearly laid out the boundaries of what was and wasn't allowed. B&B repeatedly pushed those boundaries to the point of telling Netflix "we don't need your permission" when told they didn't have the go ahead for the concert.

If this was a matter of the lawyers lying to their clients and going rogue we would have heard about it by now. B&B would be getting new lawyers and trying to smooth things over. Their silence speaks volumes. Seems to me that these women simply got too big for their britches...

Play stupid games....

[pinkcowjl]

As a writer of fairy-tale retellings I’ve researched a lot about trademarks and who-owns-what, so it makes complete sense that Netflix is suing. I don’t know how they got this deep into the mess without thinking that might happen, but I hope both sides are able to come to an agreement so Barlow and Bear’s careers aren’t over before they’ve even really begun. Thanks for helping inform us on the issue Kat, your videos on topics like these are always very thought provoking and informative!

[staryariarts]

I was really looking forward to a Brigerton musical, but Copyright infringement is a crime so, they should've took the Netflix deal so it wouldn't hurt them and it would have been a win win situation 😭. they really need new lawyers.
Also love your content Kat! If you like plants you should totally add those to your living room!💖💅🏽

[intotheunknown]

Netflix is right. It was fun when it was a fan-made musical to celebrate a love for the show/books; when they decided to monetize it, that's where it went too far. Not to mention if in some crazy world B&B were to win, what a dangerous place it would put fan-made content. Their argument is, "why didn't they stop us sooner?" It would be companies would have to start going after people not making a profit to ensure their IPs aren't stolen and put fanfiction and other works in jeopardy. It also puts small creators who aren't Netflix at risk; they don't have the legal team of such a big company if someone takes their work and begins to profit off it, without a licence who's gonna protect them?

[DINGOlord]

I am a lawyer and either they are ignoring whatever advice their lawyers have made (most likely) or their lawyer should be disbarred. Only two options I can see with how terribly this was conducted. A first year student could have seen this coming.

[saraescobedo]

Paralegal here...honestly B&B are 2 grown women who have been working in the industry. They are not innocent victims here. They thought that everyone would back them against the "evil corporation" and they forgot that they are *actually* the aggressors in this. Once they were offered a license and chose to play the odds, they were in the wrong. Julia Quinn has even supported Netflix in this and it is her ACTUAL MATERIAL. She is the creator here. END OF... I was worried that B&B were still going to latch onto UBM when they kept escalating their activities with it and hadn't watched season 2 or announced a new project. I had hoped they would use UBM as a springboard for opportunities. Bad advise or not, they are old enough to know better in this and have made MULTIPLE mistakes here. I can't reason how they will not lose spectacularly. I'm sure this will settle out of court, but it's still unfortunate.

[ebeth]

The thing with trademark, is if you don’t defend it, you legally lose the right to it. So Netflix really doesn’t have a choice🤷🏻‍♀️

[JayJay-]

Mickey Jo Theatre also did a video on this situation too and goes through some of the documents Netflix filed. If you want more info on the whole situation I would check out their video too.

[ruth]

I’ve seen so many people blaming the lawyers for this situation but lawyers advise, clients still have to make the decision. A lawyer can tell you what the risks are and warn that there’s a high chance of legal action being taken. But at the end of the day, it’s the client’s decision. I find it much more believable that B&B chose to risk it for a chocolate biscuit than the theory that a well respected law firm just had no idea B&B might get sued.