NBC Universal sues for Dean Martin Show DVD rights

by Lara on September 17th, 2007

Studio says producer sold rights it didn’t own.

NBC’s complaint alleges that many of the episode excerpts belong to the studio—and not Greg Garrison Productions. The studio says it owns the copyrights to 235 episodes. “Material portions of at least 86 episodes of The Dean Martin Show owned by NBCU have been copied and included on the best-of-shows DVDs,” the complaint states.

NBC had apparently been considering packaging the Dean Martin properties when representatives learned of the Best of Dean Martin series. The complaint says NBC Universal believes Guthy-Renker has sold “many thousands of copies of the infringing DVDs and has grossed tens of millions of dollars in revenue from their infringements.”

I had a feeling that this didn’t ever really feel right - NBC doesn’t usually give up rights (no matter the price) to anything.

Personally, I don’t care who’s packaging, selling, or distributing them, I still want the whole collection! As do the people over at GoldDiggers.

In addition to the lawsuit cited above, a SECOND suit has been filed against Greg Garrison Productions by the American Federation of Musicians. This case was actually brought on April 25 of this year — again with no press coverage or public announcement. The dispute in this instance is listed as being over Labor/Management Relations, presumably relating to non-payment of residuals to musicians who performed in the show’s orchestra, in a situation reminiscent of, if not similar to, the claim by AFTRA against Garrison’s production company over non-payment of the series’ on-camera regulars, including The Golddiggers and Dingaling Sisters, for their appearances in The Best of Dean Martin sets released by Guthy-Renker. That conflict was settled out of court and resulted in an overall payout just shy of $1 Million dollars to the affected artists.

Tags: american_federation_of_musicians, Dean Martin, guthy_renker, nbc

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Ralph Baker
Sep 18, 2007 at 8:34 pm

My personal opinion? I favor the lawsuit by NBC Universal as the primary means to make the whole affair strictly legal. Let’s hope that the courts arrive quickly to the fairest judgment possible and find IN FAVOR of the world-wide consumer public. Yes, Lara…I want the whole collection just like you do.
Lara
Sep 18, 2007 at 10:21 pm

Thanks so much for the info, Ralph! I’m right there with you on the crusade! :)
Video Vision
Sep 22, 2007 at 9:14 pm

Hi Lara.

On behalf of The Golddiggers Super Site, I want to thank you for your fair, accurate and honest coverage of this story.

Sites such as yours and ours serve a valuable purpose in making it known just how much support exists for the release of full season sets of The Dean Martin Show.

Prior to the legal battle that has now erupted over rights to that series, the largest single obstacle standing in the way of the DVD release of not only Dean’s program, but all television variety shows, has been the thorny issue of music licensing. Add to that the matter of having to pay residuals to all on-screen talent, and the prospect of obtaining all of the necessary rights clearances can become so daunting that many potential packagers of these shows give up before they even try.

In that respect, Greg Garrison does deserve credit for releasing as much of The Dean Martin Show as he did. The 29 volumes in the Guthy-Renker series, as insufficient as they may have been to diehard Dinophiles, nonetheless represented — believe it or not — the most comprehensive direct-to-video release of any variety series ever broadcast on television.

We can only hope that a large corporate entity such as NBC Universal, were it to prevail in the current dispute, might be able to utilize its deep pockets to succeed where smaller companies have failed. But in truth, the best chance for these shows might be back on the place from whence they came — television — a medium wherein rights clearances are governed by a different, and easier to manage, set of rules.

The problem with TV showings isn’t so much rights as it is finding an outlet that will take a gamble on a variety show in a modern era that’s proven inhospitable to the format. That’s where savvy marketing comes in, and why it’s so crucial that whoever winds up with the rights to The Dean Martin Show understand what it’s all about and to whom it could appeal — because in the hands of ignoramuses, the show doesn’t stand a chance.

Of course, before any of these other issues can even be considered, the little matter of who owns the series has to be resolved.

At The Golddiggers Super Site, we have just posted an in-depth article addressing in greater detail many of the intellectual property rights issues involved in the current legal battle.. Even for those whose eyes might glaze over while sifting through such tortuous details, there are some more down-to-earth reflections on the quest to have The Dean Martin Show reissued, contained in the latter portion of the article, that would likely appeal to the more right-brained among us.

So, Lara, I hope that you and all of your readers will stop by to read the article (downing a few cups of coffee first might be advisable) and help keep our desire to see these shows reissued front and center. After all, if whoever ends up with control of Dean’s show thinks that there’s fresh money to be made from it, that, more than anything else, will determine whether we ever have the opportunity to see the series again in the whole, uncut form in which it was originally telecast.