Show faces copyright infringement lawsuit

Brownmark Films have launched a legal action claiming the animated comedy ripped off their video for Samwell's song What What (In the Butt).

The original clip, which has been seen by almost 34million people in the three years it has been on YouTube, was parodied in a 2008 episode of South Park when the character Butters also became an internet sensation.

Now – after creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker were forced to apologise for lifting a spoof of Inception from the CollegeHumor website – Brownmark has filed its lawsuit.

Court papers filed in a US District Court in Wisconsin, allege that the infringement is 'wilful, intentional, and purposeful, in disregard of and indifferent to the rights of Brownmark'. The company is seeking is seeking a permanent injunction and maximum statutory damages.

However, Comedy Central, which airs the show, said: 'Courts have consistently recognised that parody enjoys broad protections under the First Amendment and the Copyright Act. We believe South Park's parody of the What What (In The Butt) viral music video… is fully protected against any copyright infringement claims under the fair-use doctrine and the First Amendment and we plan to vigorously defend those rights.'

The founders of Brownmark, Bobby Ciraldo and Andrew Swant, have changed their tune in the two-and-a-half years since the episode first aired.

At the time they admitted they were surprised that their video was parodied, and had not been contacted by anyone at South Park, but seemed flattered by what they called a 'homage'

In a Q&A interview with the Blogcritics website in 2008, they said: 'We thought we were dreaming. We sent Trey and Matt a thank you email the next day. The Butters version is great! The attention to detail they put into [it] is very flattering. It's a full minute, shot-for-shot remake of something we put a lot of work into, by a show we respect a ton.'

Here is the original:

And here's South Park's version:

Published: 16 Nov 2010