The Television Transcript Project : How Eleven of my Transcripts Got Banned

10 June 2001
Suzanne Morine
[address removed]
[address removed]

The Television Transcript Project
http://www.oocities.org/tvtranscripts


[lawyer's name removed]
Counsel Business and Legal Affairs
Universal Studios Consumer Products Group
[address removed]
[address removed]
Universal City, CA 91608


Mr. [lawyer's name removed],


Your May 31st email demanded that I remove from my site: eleven fan-created transcripts of four shows named as having a merchandizing/distributing association with Universal Studios and other unnamed Universal Properties. You also demanded that I reply in writing, under threat of legal action. This is that written response.

Before your email, I have never received any sort of request to remove transcripts. I have not even received any objections to them (except for one from one fan who soon admitted he was mistaken about how he remembered something). All of my transcripts are the result of fan appreciation. Yet your email was full of demands, threats, and mischaracterizations of me, and my site, "The Television Transcript Project."

I have long covered my reasons for posting transcripts in the introduction to my site, notably in the "Several more reasons transcripts are nifty" link located there. Further, I am confident that transcripts do not hurt the sales made of program merchandise. That is, I believe that transcripts do not exploit the programs they document. I object to the mischaracterization of my transcripts as exploitation. (Note: all ads on my site are part of the free hosting.)

I believe that the people making the most money off of this threatened action are the lawyers involved in it. I imagine that the bill for this threatened action is sizeable. It adds up as a very easy, clever, and ironic way to profit from creators' work and my spontaneous appreciation of their creations. I believe that lawyers, not creators, initiated this line of action and I object.

Given the manner in which I was contacted, I think it is safe to assume that Universal Studios or its legal team has already made its final decision and will ignore reasoning, asserting its right to stop it, regardless. For that reason, and because I would like to avoid retaining a lawyer on this matter at this time, I have complied with the demands.

I have removed all eleven transcripts of Law and Order, Northern Exposure, Hercules: the Legendary Journeys, and Xena: Warrior Princess from the Television Transcript Project. This includes the one partial transcript. I do assure Universal Studios that I will not repost them on the site, or anywhere else, until I hear from Universal Studios, or its representatives, that it would permit that. Further, as long as such permission has not been granted, I will not enable anyone else to post them for me, nor will I give those transcripts to any entity. I hereafter hold, for myself alone, my transcripts of those four shows.

The email also demanded that I stop using anything else associated with Universal. I assume that this refers to four small images next to the series titles on the main page and synopses page. I have removed them and I will handle them in the same manner as the transcripts. The only other matter I see remaining is the synopses. I have made sure that the synopses do not give away the plots so that they fall well within fair use.

I think that it will be a very unfortunate day when each person interested in having a transcript of a given show has to transcribe it on their own in private, forever keeping their transcript from everyone else.


Sincerely,

[signature]

Suzanne Morine







Enclosed: a copy of your email