Philadelphia Weekly

In one particularly memorable episode of The Simpsons, there's a running gag in which lawyers appear out of nowhere, demanding a cease-and-desist order against Grandpa's offhand impersonations of Charlie Chaplin and Jimmy Durante, which apparently constitute copyright infringement.

Real life is no less ridiculous.

Consider the Anaheim, Calif., party clowns who were served papers from Disney for face-painting characters that too closely resembled the company's.

And consider the tale of the Haddonfield, N.J., daycare center employee who got in trouble for showing kids a Barney movie on a rainy day.

If these stories of bureaucratic insanity sound familiar, you probably caught the documentary Willful Infringement at the "Illegal Art Extravaganza" in October, where it was the opening night's filmic attraction.

Produced by Jed Horovitz and directed by Greg Hittelman, Infringement spins those and other brow-furrowing tales throughout its 58 minutes, and also reveals that the FBI actually has nothing to do with the warnings shown on VHS tapes and DVDs.

Now, straight out of left field, there's a potentially optimistic--if somewhat strange--postscript to the film's showing. Spurred on by acclaim from several lawyers who'd seen the doc, Infringement will be shown once again--but this time in a legal seminar.

Entitled "Fair Use in the Digital Age," the two-hour class will allow lawyers to fulfill part of their annual professional-education requirements. The hope is that the film might help convey what it feels like to be a client in such a suit.

Horovitz, who will present the seminar through the company Fiat Lucre LLC, knows these feelings all too well. In fact, Fiat Lucre's press release boasts that the seminar is "the first ever continuing legal education course created by a client in a lawsuit."

Horovitz became that client in 1999, when he was attacked by ever-litigious Disney lawyers. According to Disney, as head of Video Pipeline Inc.--a South Jersey company that distributes film trailers to libraries, video retailers and websites like Netflix--Horovitz had helped advertise Mouse-owned products and was therefore violating copyright laws (despite the fact that Disney ultimately benefited from the exposure).

After spending four years dealing with Disney's suit for $110 million in damages and paying such high legal fees that his company almost tanked (an appeal is now before the Supreme Court), Horovitz decided he needed some catharsis. Ergo Willful Infringement and its discovery of how widespread these types of cases have become, particularly in our increasingly digital age.

It's difficult to surmise exactly what the effects of Horovitz's classes will be. After all, lawyers often work at the behest of mad-with-greed corporations. Still, it's certainly a step in the right direction.

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Check www.willfulinfringement.com and www.fiatlucre.com for updates.