So, here’s a sentence I never thought I would write ever; The Satanic Temple is suing Netflix over copyright infringement. And here’s another sentence that I DEFINITELY never thought I would write; The Satanic Temple may actually have a legitimate case. The Salem, Massachusetts based temple stated that they had planned on suing Netflix over the use of a copyrighted statue in their new show, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, a reboot of the classic 90’s show, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, set in the darker and more realistic Riverdale universe.
Now, the temple has slapped Netflix and Warner Bros with a 50 million dollar lawsuit. Co-founder and spokesperson, Lucien Graves, has made a statement on the suit.
“Yes, we are taking legal action regarding #TheChillingAdventuresofSabrina appropriating our copyrighted monument design to promote their asinine Satanic Panic fiction. I’m amazed that anybody is confused as to why we would seek legal remedy over Sabrina using our monument. Would they be as understanding of a fictional show that used a real mosque as the HQ of a terrorist cell? A fictional Blood Libel tale implicating real world Jews?”
Deadline reported on the pending lawsuit, which you can read the just of below:
“This case presents, among other things, a textbook example of the hornbook explanation of copyright protection that copyright law protects unique expressions, but not the ideas themselves,” lawyer Bruce Lederman said on behalf of the Temple. “What makes this case particularly striking and significant is that it arises in the context of Defendants who are highly sophisticated media production and distribution companies which blatantly misappropriated Plaintiff’s unique expression of an idea even though they have a long history of vigorously protecting their own intellectual property.”
The main complaint from the temple is that the show uses their statue to depict evil deeds, misappropriating the values that they stand for (another sentence I’d never thought I’d write).
“The prominent use of symbol as the central focal point of the school associated with evil, cannibalism and murder blurs and tarnishes the TST Baphomet with Children as a mark of TST.”
They also tweeted a comparison pic on Twitter for people to compare themselves, and, quite frankly, the statue in the show is nearly identical to the one in the temple. This lawsuit will definitely be one to keep an eye on, if for no other reason than for the fascinating and seemingly oxymoronic theme of this case. You can check out the comparison pic below.
For purposes of comparison… pic.twitter.com/AZJvmq1Cks
— Lucien Greaves (@LucienGreaves) October 30, 2018
What do you think of this lawsuit? Does the Satanic Temple have a case? Let us know in the comments below!