May 13, 2003

Outkast vs. Rosa Parks, Round 2

A new development in Rosa Parks' old lawsuit against Outkast. This seems to be another case where our legal system is assessing a work of art it is poorly equipped to judge.

I'd think it would be clear to most who read this that Outkast was not hoping to trick anyone into thinking this was a product affiliated with Rosa Parks, to capitalize on her "brand" or anything like that. Just as it should have been obvious in 1989 that Luther Campbell was not trying to pretend his booty records were affiliated with the Star Wars franchise, when he named himself Luke Skywalker. But the courts, made up of folks with different cultural sensibilities (and beholden to legal technicalities that can override common sense), had a different interpretation.

Rosa Parks Trumps "Rosa Parks"
A federal appeals court on Monday cast out a ruling in favor of OutKast and reinstated the civil-rights pioneer's lawsuit accusing the Grammy-winning hip-hop duo of profiting off her moniker by appropriating it for the title of their tune "Rosa Parks" and falsely suggesting the song was about her or endorsed by her.

In its ruling, a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Detroit sided with the 90-year-old Parks and declared that while OutKast is protected by the First Amendment, the Atlanta-based rap outfit still must demonstrate to the court why they decided to name their song after the Detroit resident when the lyrics barely mention her.

"The fact that Defendants cry 'artist' and 'symbol' as reasons for appropriating Rosa Parks' name for a song title does not absolve them from potential liability for, in the words of Shakespeare, filching Rosa Parks' good name," the judges said in their ruling.

The heart of Parks' case is that OutKast used her iconic name for commercial gain without her permission...

..."Rosa Parks" was one of the more popular tracks off OutKast's multiplatinum-selling 1998 Arista release Aquemini, but contains no references to Parks in the song aside from the title and the line, "everybody move to the back of the bus."

OutKast's lawyer, Joe Beck, argued that the rap duo's use of her name and the back-of-the-bus lyric did not constitute false advertising nor infringe on Parks' right to publicity as Parks' attorneys previously claimed. Rather, Beck said that while Parks' act of defiance inspired the line, it was really a symbolic slam to rival rappers looking to surpass OutKast's success...

I must say that choice of title always was a little mysterious to me, as was Bombs Over Baghdad. I often wished, during the recent war, that the latter's lyrics actually related to the title in some way, it could have been put to such great use.

But you might say there's a tradition in Hip-Hop of seemingly topical song titles that have no relation to the actual subject matter: A Tribe Called Quest's "Steve Biko"; LL Cool J's "Def Jam in the Motherland"; and "Free Mumia by KRS with Channel Live, which did a nice bait and switch by mentioning Mumia in the chorus but then devoting the song to a well deserved assault on C. Delores Tucker and her self-serving ilk. Are there any other examples you guys can think of?

Posted by jsmooth995 at May 13, 2003 3:45 PM

Comments

what about that singer who sang about David Duchovney? that might be a bad example...but in general, this does not bode well for hiphop...i don't think i've heard as many pop culture references in other muscial genres. It makes it fun tho...what if rappers can't mention anyone anymore? will Tommy now go after Ghostface? (yeah i know its a remake)..will Vanessa go after Chubb Rock? will Janet go after Naughty By Nature?

this could be the beginning of the end...

Posted by: Damali at May 13, 2003 7:37 PM

Although I never had someone chase me home calling me nigger, I know people who have been discuss the use of the word "nigger" in our brotherhood organization. This person is grossly disgusted by the use of this word, so I can't blame Rosa Parks for being offended at hearing it in a song named after her. I think this has more to do with it then anything else.

Posted by: Jhigh420 at May 14, 2003 6:20 PM

Parks is a historical figure, not a 'product'; her name is not a "trade mark", for all it represents is a human being who happens to be a figure long in the public eye. Only malicious libel would be actionable. An artist--poet, song-writer, novelist--enjoys freedom of expression including the use of the name of a historical figure. Parks' attorneys should be sanctioned for bringing a frivolous lawsuit with grounds in clear contravention of the U.S. Constitution.

Posted by: Democritus at December 8, 2003 2:17 PM

Frivilouse lawsuit. Rosa Parks name is not a commodity. I doubt if she initiated this law suit. No doubt someone in her camp wants some money from Outkast. I cannot believe a woman of her age listens to Rap music, someone her age should be proud that young Rap artist, know who she is and would care to mention her in a Rap song or title. She and her camp should view the use of her name in this song or title as something great, no something demeaning. This makes greedy, cheap, insensitive to young people. History is for sharing, for telling. Who know how many conversations was sparks by the use of her name. How many children asked after hearing her name used, "Who is Rosa Parks?" Rosa Parks is not that great that she should aspect to have her name used only during Black History month in church or during NCAA meetings. Get a life Rosa and Johnny C!!! Rosa be glad these young people respected you enough to mention you in their music, you should feel honored. You only cheapen you history, your move to the back of the bus by this law suit. FREE SPEECH, FREE SEAT?????? NO DIFFERENCE!!!!

Posted by: M Melvin at December 11, 2003 7:43 AM

i don't think it's right it's a little art of a song.IT's not like they are saying blah blah you not important. Iknow they were not being mean.

Posted by: keke17100 at January 21, 2004 2:05 PM

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