In October 2018, I co-authored a brief as amicus curiae for the Ninth Circuit court on the question of “copyright estoppel.” In the trial, the widow of the ghost writer of Tommy DeVito’s unpublished autobiography sued the authors of Jersey Boys, the musical. She lost and now appeals to the Circuit Court.
It is the position of the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund (for whom I drafted the brief) that Ms. Corbello is barred from claims of infringement pursuant to the doctrine of copyright estoppel: everybody who received a copy of the autobiography was told that it was fact-based and true; she cannot now say that certain aspects may not have been true and, thus, what was thought to be history is now her personal, private property. You can read the entire brief here.
David Faux, Esq.
Law Office of David H. Faux, P.C.
Office: (855) 905-5031
Email: davefaux@dhf-law.net