Rogers & Cowan, Beverly Hills-publicity agency [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsCALIFORNIA (CelebrityAccess) – CBS is being sued by the heirs of the two men who created The Andy Griffith Show‘s theme song for allegedly using the work without a license.
According to court documents filed Thursday in California federal court, the heirs of Earle Hagen and Herbert Spencer who wrote “Theme for the Andy Griffith Show” in the ’50s and registered its copyright in 1960, are claiming that CBS is exploiting the theme without a license by selling DVDs of the series. They argue the network is relying on a 1978 agreement between Viacom and Mayberry Enterprises concerning rights to the series and that the agreement doesn’t include home video or other modern media.
The heirs are suing for direct and contributory copyright infringement and are asking the court for an injunction to stop CBS from exploiting the theme, as well as seeking either actual damages and disgorgement of the network’s profits or statutory damages.
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