A recent ruling in a Texarkana federal court favors a popular daytime talk-show host and proponents of laws that prohibit copyright infringement and the theft of intellectual property.
Peteski Productions, the company that owns the rights to the "Dr. Phil Show," filed suit in June against Leah Rothman, a former segment director employed by CBS who was working on Dr. Phil.
The suit alleges Rothman accessed a database of video files related to the show without authorization in 2015. Rothman, who agreed to employment and confidentiality agreements prohibiting such conduct, is accused of making a recording of the video using an iPhone, a copy of which Rothman allegedly stored on her personal computer.
"Based on the infringing, the video was targeted for theft, as defendants copied and recorded only nine seconds out of thousands of hours of the 'Dr. Phil Show' video footage stored in the 'Dr. Phil Show' database," the complaint states. "Defendants' motive in infringing Peteski's copyrights was to smear plaintiff and extort money from plaintiff."
Rothman's lawyers claim that her theft of the video should be considered "fair use," a legal concept which allows for the limited use of copyrighted material when it is necessary for criticism or in the best interest of the public. Rothman claims she stole the short video clip because she needed a "bona fide" example to support claims of false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, retaliation and wrongful termination made in a suit she filed against Peteski in California state court.
Rothman alleges in the California case that McGraw called about 300 employees to a meeting March 11, 2015, to discuss a media leak. Rothman accused McGraw of holding the staffers in a locked room and hurling obscenities at them as security guards manned the doors.
Peteski's lawyers in the California case have denied that staff weren't free to leave the meeting, have said no proof exists that doors were locked and that no physical threats were made in the staff meeting, which lasted less than half an hour.
U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap issued an opinion this week which finds Rothman cannot claim her theft of the video was "fair use."
"Rothman did not copy to then educate the masses or to further the greater good. She copied to aid her pending lawsuit seeking money damages where she is the only plaintiff and sole potential beneficiary," states Gilstrap's opinion.
Gilstrap noted in the opinion that while the copyrighted nine-second video has not been publicly disseminated, Peteski claims it may have value in the future and that Peteski is entitled to protect the opportunity to sell the work.
Gilstrap's ruling means the case against Rothman in Texas for alleged copyright infringement can move forward.
Texarkana lawyers George McWilliams and David Folsom, along with Dallas lawyer Chip Babcock, filed the suit on Peteski's behalf in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas. Babcock and Folsom are members of the Jackson Walker law firm, and McWilliams operates as a solo practitioner.
In 2013, Peteski successfully sued Gawker Media for copyright infringement. The Gawker site Deadspin posted footage from a much-anticipated episode of Dr. Phil involving a well-known sports figure in advance of its scheduled airing. The case settled for an undisclosed amount in Peteski's favor.