NY Times: Primer Spoof With Yiddish Faces Suit (in English): “Pearson Education, the publishing company that owns the copyright to the Dick and Jane reading primers, has filed a lawsuit against a division of Time Warner in Federal District Court in Los Angeles claiming that the book “Yiddish With Dick and Jane” violates Pearson’s copyrights and trademarks for the familiar characters.”
The copyright owner argues this is “an unprotected imitation” and not parody because it does not use the copyrighted characters “for the purpose of social criticism.” But, in order to be a parody, which is allowed under fair use, the allegedly infringing work must comment on the original work itself, not society as a whole. See Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.. In trademark law, parody fair use is a defense if the parody (commenting on the original work) does not risk a likelihood of confusion. See, e.g. Cliffs Notes, Inc. v. Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Corp., Mutual of Omaha Insurance Co. v. Novak.
Does the parody poke fun at the goyish world of Dick and Jane, or is this not a kosher parody?
Publisher’s Weekly describes the book: “Dick and Jane are all grown up, and they’re living in the real world-and it’s full of tsuris (troubles). That’s the premise of this hilarious little book, which functions both as a humorous tale and a genuine guide to a language with a sentiment and world view all its own. ”
An excerpt:
See Jane schlep
Schlep Jane, schlep
shlep, schlep, schlep
The disclaimer: “This book is a parody and has not been prepared, approved, or authorized by the creators or producers of the ‘Dick and Jane’ reading primers.”
From McSweeney’s, another Dick and Jane parody, The Dick and Jane Reader for Advanced Students.
Here is a list of Common Yiddish Words
