*** Off Topic - sort of ***
dailynews.yahoo.com
Tuesday September 4 6:32 PM ET
Religious group sued for 'Curious George' pictures
By Gail Appleson, Law Correspondent
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Houghton Mifflin Co, one of America's oldest publishers of children's books, sued a religious group Tuesday alleging it was infringing on its Curious George copyright by picturing the cartoon monkey in pamphlets used for proselytizing.
The publisher is asking a Manhattan federal court to order that all infringing works be recalled and destroyed. The suit also seeks unspecified damages.
The group, Jews for Jesus, is a San Francisco-based international organization criticized by Jewish groups for teaching that Jesus is the Messiah. As part of its proselytizing, members distribute pamphlets to pedestrians throughout the United States and overseas. The group's Web site says members deliver more than 8 million pamphlets each year.
The suit centers on a pamphlet called ``Are You Curious'' that contains a number of pictures that are alleged to be virtually identical or substantially similar to copyrighted illustrations in various Curious George books. The pamphlet, which was distributed in New York and other cities, lists two New York contacts who are also named as defendants in the suit.
``We feel that Curious George, who is enjoyed by millions for getting in and out of trouble, is a character we wanted to parody. We are not looking for trouble. We just want to communicate our message,'' said Susan Perlman, associate director of Jews for Jesus in San Francisco.
``Our free pamphlet is a good-natured, humor-filled attempt to make some serious points. We think Curious George would like it too,'' she said.
Perlman said the group believes it can legally keep picturing the character.
The cover of the pamphlet shows the tailless monkey standing next to a tall cone-shaped hat identical to that worn by the popular ``Man in the Yellow Hat'' featured in the original books by Margret Rey and H.A. Rey. Another picture shows the monkey wearing striped pajamas sitting on a bed featuring ornate head and footboards as in an illustration from ``Curious George Rides a Bike.''
The pamphlets are also printed on yellow paper, the background color of the Curious George books. They use the same type font and the text is written in simple, monosyllabic words and short sentences allegedly mimicking the style used in the Rey books.
Houghton said it became aware of the pamphlet when it received several calls inquiring whether the publisher was sponsoring the organization or had allowed it to use the Curious George character. The publisher said it has demanded that Jews for Jesus stop using Curious George but the group has refused.
The suit alleges the group is willfully infringing with the intent to deceive the public and it's activities are likely to confuse individuals, leading them to believe that Houghton has sponsored, authorized or is connected with the defendant's services.
Houghton, which began publishing the Curious George books 60 years ago, said it would be irreparably harmed. It said worldwide sales of Curious George books exceed 20 million copies in twelve languages. The publisher has also developed a licensing program in which Curious George appears on various goods.
The publisher's gross sales and licensing revenue from the Curious George rights was about $100 million in 2001.
Reuters/Variety REUTERS
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