The team which designed the unofficial ‘Bridgerton’ musical, finds itself at the receiving end of an infringement case filed by streaming giant Netflix in a Washington, D.C. U.S. District Court, reports Variety.
Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, the songwriting team behind the project, initially developed the musical on social media. The duo went on to score the No. 1 slot on iTunes U.S. pop charts and even won a Grammy this year in the category of best musical theatre album.
According to Variety, Netflix alleges that it made “repeated objections” against the team as they planned to mount a live stage show of the project. “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Album Live in Concert” performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. earlier this week, selling out the venue with ticket prices that ranged up to $149.
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The stage show reportedly featured more than a dozen songs that involved exactly copied dialogue, character traits, expression and other elements from ‘Bridgerton.’ Variety further states that the streamer has alleged that ‘The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Album Live in Concert’ misrepresented to audiences that it used the “Bridgerton” trademark “with permission.” Netflix also objects to an allegedly planned line of merchandise and the production’s upcoming tour dates.
Netflix wrote in a statement, accessed by Variety: “Netflix supports fan-generated content, but Barlow & Bear have taken this many steps further, seeking to create multiple revenue streams for themselves without formal permission to utilise the ‘Bridgerton’ IP. We’ve tried hard to work with Barlow & Bear, and they have refused to cooperate. The creators, cast, writers and crew have poured their hearts and souls into ‘Bridgerton’ and we’re taking action to protect their rights.”
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