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Here Comes the Judge (part 2):
"Congratulations - you're going to be sued"
"Oh, what a night; it was late September, back in '76...." when Hollywood executives Sidney Sheinberg of Universal Studios and Lew Wasserman of MCA (a.k.a. Columbo and Kojak-see Part 1) came to New York to meet with Sony's president, Akio Morita, to express their concerns that the Betamax VCR had violated copyright laws and was the equivalent of a "weapon" that, in the hands of the public, would ultimately "destroy" the Hollywood studios.
They arranged a dinner meeting at Sony's Manhattan headquarters, near 5th Avenue and 57th Street, just a few blocks from New York City's Central Park. The dinner started out quite amicably, but at just about dessert time, Sheinberg became the proverbial "skunk at the picnic."
Sheinberg, to Morita's astonishment, threatened to sue for copyright infringement unless Sony agreed to withdraw the Betamax VCR from the market. Morita, who had excellent relations with Hollywood, initially thought this threat was merely a bluff, and Universal's main objective was to thwart the VCR in favor of the playback-only Videodisc (Discovision), which Universal and parent company MCA preferred and on which they held several patents. "Friends don't sue," stated Morita.
Maybe in Japan, but in the US, with its million-plus attorneys-which, if grouped together, would exceed the population of America's tenth largest city-Morita was about to learn firsthand why Shakespeare had wanted to "kill all the lawyers."
A month after the New York meeting, the "stage" was moved back to Hollywood, and the Universal executives were now on a more familiar "set." Morita was still skeptical that Universal would embark on any legal action. But Morita had underestimated Hollywood's litigious ways, and barely six weeks after the infamous Columbo/Kojak letter (Part 1), Universal's legal engine was revving up to full throttle.
Universal hired undercover private investigators, who pretended to be shoppers looking to purchase a Betamax VCR. The investigators visited a variety of Los Angeles County electronics stores, asking sales personnel to demonstrate this new home video recorder called Betamax. But store personnel would simply play back previously recorded material. Universal needed to catch store personnel in the act of recording their copyrighted shows.
So they waited until the Universal production "Major Adams, Trail Master" was on the air, and went to Robinson's Electronics in Beverly Hills, where they enticed the unwitting sales clerk into actually recording the program and playing it back. They also witnessed Universal's "Gemini Man" and "Wonder Woman" recorded and played back at a Bullock's store.
Universal now had its evidence, but thought it would be politically unwise to drag poor, unsuspecting store clerks into their legal battle. The company opted instead for a client of Universal's law firm (Rosenfeld, Meyer and Sussman) named William Griffiths.
Bill Griffiths, who owned a Betamax SL-7200 purchased at Henry's Camera Store, had previously recorded such Universal shows as "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "Holmes and Yo Yo." Griffiths was eager to cooperate with Universal as a "defendant," and agreed to be sued by his own law firm for "illegally" recording Universal's programs. Universal agreed not to seek damages from its friend and client, and jokingly remarked: "Congratulations, Bill, you're going to be sued."
Sony, along with Associated Dry Goods (Robinsons), Federated Stores (Bullocks), Henry's Camera Corporation, Doyle Dane (Sony's Advertising Agency) and the "shill defendant ," William Griffiths, were about to be named in Universal's Federal lawsuit.
But Universal Studios needed additional Hollywood allies. Most studios morally supported Universal's effort, and Warner Brothers did contribute some legal assistance, but only one other major studio was actually willing to join Universal' s "coalition of the willing."
On Armistice Day (Veterans' Day), November 11, 1976, Universal City Studios and Walt Disney Productions joined forces and together filed suit in Federal District Court, thus firing the first shot in a legal battle that would last for over seven years.
Competitors and rivals, now allies, Universal Studios and Disney Productions demonstrated that in Hollywood. "it's a small world, after all."
"Oh, what a night; it was late September, back in '76...." when Hollywood executives Sidney Sheinberg of Universal Studios and Lew Wasserman of MCA (a.k.a. Columbo and Kojak-see Part 1) came to New York to meet with Sony's president, Akio Morita, to express their concerns that the Betamax VCR had violated copyright laws and was the equivalent of a "weapon" that, in the hands of the public, would ultimately "destroy" the Hollywood studios.
They arranged a dinner meeting at Sony's Manhattan headquarters, near 5th Avenue and 57th Street, just a few blocks from New York City's Central Park. The dinner started out quite amicably, but at just about dessert time, Sheinberg became the proverbial "skunk at the picnic."
Sheinberg, to Morita's astonishment, threatened to sue for copyright infringement unless Sony agreed to withdraw the Betamax VCR from the market. Morita, who had excellent relations with Hollywood, initially thought this threat was merely a bluff, and Universal's main objective was to thwart the VCR in favor of the playback-only Videodisc (Discovision), which Universal and parent company MCA preferred and on which they held several patents. "Friends don't sue," stated Morita.
Maybe in Japan, but in the US, with its million-plus attorneys-which, if grouped together, would exceed the population of America's tenth largest city-Morita was about to learn firsthand why Shakespeare had wanted to "kill all the lawyers."
A month after the New York meeting, the "stage" was moved back to Hollywood, and the Universal executives were now on a more familiar "set." Morita was still skeptical that Universal would embark on any legal action. But Morita had underestimated Hollywood's litigious ways, and barely six weeks after the infamous Columbo/Kojak letter (Part 1), Universal's legal engine was revving up to full throttle.
Universal hired undercover private investigators, who pretended to be shoppers looking to purchase a Betamax VCR. The investigators visited a variety of Los Angeles County electronics stores, asking sales personnel to demonstrate this new home video recorder called Betamax. But store personnel would simply play back previously recorded material. Universal needed to catch store personnel in the act of recording their copyrighted shows.
So they waited until the Universal production "Major Adams, Trail Master" was on the air, and went to Robinson's Electronics in Beverly Hills, where they enticed the unwitting sales clerk into actually recording the program and playing it back. They also witnessed Universal's "Gemini Man" and "Wonder Woman" recorded and played back at a Bullock's store.
Universal now had its evidence, but thought it would be politically unwise to drag poor, unsuspecting store clerks into their legal battle. The company opted instead for a client of Universal's law firm (Rosenfeld, Meyer and Sussman) named William Griffiths.
Bill Griffiths, who owned a Betamax SL-7200 purchased at Henry's Camera Store, had previously recorded such Universal shows as "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "Holmes and Yo Yo." Griffiths was eager to cooperate with Universal as a "defendant," and agreed to be sued by his own law firm for "illegally" recording Universal's programs. Universal agreed not to seek damages from its friend and client, and jokingly remarked: "Congratulations, Bill, you're going to be sued."
Sony, along with Associated Dry Goods (Robinsons), Federated Stores (Bullocks), Henry's Camera Corporation, Doyle Dane (Sony's Advertising Agency) and the "shill defendant ," William Griffiths, were about to be named in Universal's Federal lawsuit.
But Universal Studios needed additional Hollywood allies. Most studios morally supported Universal's effort, and Warner Brothers did contribute some legal assistance, but only one other major studio was actually willing to join Universal' s "coalition of the willing."
On Armistice Day (Veterans' Day), November 11, 1976, Universal City Studios and Walt Disney Productions joined forces and together filed suit in Federal District Court, thus firing the first shot in a legal battle that would last for over seven years.
Competitors and rivals, now allies, Universal Studios and Disney Productions demonstrated that in Hollywood. "it's a small world, after all."
