Jerry Seinfeld wins 'Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee' dispute

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An appeals court affirmed that a dispute between Jerry Seinfeld and someone claiming they created "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" is without merit. 

The Second Circuit court is siding with the famed comedian against Christian Charles, who directed the pilot episode of the hit talk show, arguing that Charles took too long to sue Seinfeld for allegedly copying his work without compensation. A court had previously ruled in favor of Seinfeld in Sept. 2019. 

The appeal largely fell flat due to the fact that Charles waited too long to sue Seinfeld. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Charles claims he pitched the idea to the comedian back in 2002 and began working with him on the show before it eventually became a staple on Sony’s Crackle platform in 2012. Shortly after its debut, Charles claimed that he and Seinfeld began arguing about his compensation. He wanted more than the directing fee on a "work-for-hire" basis that Seinfeld offered due to the fact that he believed he was a co-creator of the show.

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The outlet reports that the Supreme Court has ruled that anyone can bring a copyright claim within three years of infringement. However, he waited until 2018 to file a complaint in federal court. 

An appeals court ruled in favor of Jerry Seinfeld over ownership of "Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee." (Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

In its decision, the Second Circuit court explained that the lawsuit was "time-barred," meaning that a ticking clock was placed on Charles from the moment his alleged ownership of the series was called into question. 

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"The district court identified two events described in the Second Amended Complaint that would have put a reasonably diligent plaintiff on notice that his ownership claims were disputed. First, in February 2012, Seinfeld rejected Charles’s request for backend compensation and made it clear that Charles’s involvement would be limited to a work-for-hire basis," the complaint reads. "Second, the show premiered in July 2012 without crediting Charles, at which point his ownership claim was publicly repudiated."

The court concluded that, "either one of these developments was enough to place Charles on notice that his ownership claim was disputed and therefore this action, filed six years later, was brought too late." 

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The case was  argued on April 29 and subsequently handled relatively quickly, which is likely welcome news to Seinfeld who is debuting a new hour-long Netflix comedy special this week titled, "Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill."