Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2007/05/15/oj_simpsons_parody/

Fox releases hounds over O.J. Simpsons spoof

Fair use defence

By John Leyden

Posted in Legal, 15th May 2007 17:46 GMT

Fox has cried foul at a parody of The Simpsons that stars acquitted murder suspect O.J. instead of loveable lazybones Homer.

The O.J. Simpsons puts the sometime star of the Naked Gun series as a character in a series of three animated clips published by Broadcaster.com. Fox has released its legal hounds to get the clips pulled, but Broadcaster.com is standing firm. The online video site argues that fair-use protects parodies, Reuters reports.

"We respect the rights of content owners," Broadcaster.com CEO Martin Wade. "We are examining all the issues raised by the Fox request. Our goal is to be a respecter of content rights and at the same time find legal ways to bring our community members the content they enjoy."

One of Broadcaster clips is titled If I Did It, a reference to the name of a book which O.J. "wrote" about the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. Fox's sister company Harper Collins pulped the book after widespread criticism that its publishing deal with Simpson was, at best, crass and insensitive.

Fans of South Park will recall that an animated version of O.J. appeared in the fifth season show Butters' Very Own Episode as the member of a support group for relatives of murder victims and people who have "disappeared". ®