A Nevada federal jury returned a verdict against the creators of the Tony award winning Broadway musical Jersey Boys finding that they committed copyright infringement. Writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice along with director Des McAnuff were found to have copied portions of the Broadway show from an unpublished autobiography titled, Tommy DeVito – Then and Now.
Tony DeVito is one of the founding members of the singing group, the Four Seasons. In 1988, DeVito wanted to write a book about the group and their not so glamorous, even criminal past, but with an eighth grade education he would need help. He enlisted the services of journalist Rex Woodward. Woodward drafted the book but was, unfortunately, diagnosed with lung cancer and his health quickly declined. He tried to get a publisher for the book but he passed away before that could happen.
The three remaining members of the Four Seasons, Frankie Valli, and Bob Gaudio, along with DeVito, and producers Brickman and Elice entered into an agreement with Dodger Theatrical to create a biographic, theatrical, work about their lives and their music. After Dodger Theatrical took on the project, DeVito shared his book with the group.
In October of 2005, the Broadway show, Jersey Boys, premiered. The show received great reviews, winning four Tony awards in its first year for its vibrant depiction of the Four Seasons. Donna Corbella, Woodward’s widow, heard the buzz about the Broadway show and thought the public may be interested in reading the book her late husband wrote. After some investigation, she was shocked to find out that DeVito had registered the manuscript with the U.S. Copyright Office in his name only and had excluded Woodward.
DeVito claimed that Woodward was a mere “scribe” for the book and not the author. Corbella strongly disagreed and was able to supplement the registration and get her husband listed as co-author of the book. With that registration, she was now a co-claimant and sued the writers and directors of Jersey Boys for creating a work without her permission.
A Nevada jury determined that the defendants did, in fact, commit copyright infringement. The jury found that ten percent of the show’s success was attributed to infringement of the book. The jurors did not specifically indicate which parts of the book were copied but U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Jones found eleven similarities.
Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio had originally been named in the lawsuit but were dismissed as defendants after the judge found that the singers had no knowledge of the unpublished book until they were deposed for this case.
As the Four Season’s song goes “big girls don’t cry” but in this case, a tear or two may fall from the creators of Jersey Boys as the damages phase of the trial will begin soon.