Paramount has been sued by the estate of late broadcaster Paul Harvey for alleging using an audio clip of Harvey’s broadcast without permission in the TV series “Landman.”
The suit, filed Monday in the Southern District Court of New York, alleges that Paramount Global unlawfully used a 90-second audio clip of Harvey’s broadcast 2008 segment, titled “Gas Crisis,” in the season finale of “Landman” without the knowledge or consent of Paulynne, which was founded by Harvey and his wife and colleague, Lynne Cooper Harvey.
Moreover, the suit claims that the clip, which “discusses that rising gas prices are more than just the result of market forces and the greed of oil companies” and explores how prices are “deliberately manipulated by governments and certain corporations to advance broader agendas” was edited and taken out of context “to support the show’s pro-oil industry themes.”
A representative for Paramount Global did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
The episode in question — Season 1, Episode 10, titled “The Crumbs of Hope,” which premiered on Paramount+ on Jan. 12 — opens with Harvey’s well-known introduction to his the “Rest of the Story” program, “Now, the rest of the story,” which the suit claims was used to “make it obvious to viewers that the recording used in the show was directly sourced from Mr. Harvey’s ‘The Rest of the Story’ broadcasts.”
The suit claims that counsel for Paulynne contacted Paramount Global in a letter dated March 14 and also later by phone to offer to resolve the infringement, but Paramount Global did not respond. “Paulynne’s prior knowledge and consent is willful in nature, remains continuous and ongoing, and violates Paulynne’s copyrights in and to the recording,” the suit reads. “Defendant’s commercial exploitation of the ‘Gas Crisis’ Recording has resulted in a financial benefit to Defendant and the loss of substantial licensing income to Paulynne.”
Paulynne is seeking judgement for Paramount Global to “remove any
content incorporating, in whole or in part, the ‘Gas Crisis’ Recording from any web or other platform used, owned, operated, or controlled by [Paramount Global]” as well as cease and desist from any further use of the “Gas Crisis” recording in connection with the episode in question or any additional episodes. Paulynne also seeks monetary relief for the “advantage gained by [Paramount Global] through its infringement.”
“In the world of audio licensing, 90 seconds is an eternity,” Paulynne’s lead attorney and partner at Pelosi Wolf Spates LLP Jaime Wolf said in a statement. “Paramount not only grabbed a long, copyrighted audio clip without our client’s permission, but they also twisted the intent of Mr. Harvey’s words by editing his original broadcast.”
