L.A. Asserts Copyright Interest in TV Cop Shows

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - No-nonsense Sgt. Joe Friday of ``Dragnet'' and the clean-cut cops of ``Adam-12'' never had to do anything like this.

But the City of Angels has made it clear that its real-life police department is here not only to serve and protect, but also to collect licensing fees.

The city of Los Angeles has threatened legal action against the makers of two new TV police dramas if they use likenesses of the city's trademarked police department badges, logos, or even the LAPD's good name, without city permission.

The municipal government is insisting that producers of the upcoming CBS series ``Robbery, Homicide Division,'' and NBC's ``Boomtown'' -- both set in Los Angeles -- pay licensing fees for rights to symbols that ``belong to the residents and taxpayers of L.A.,'' Ana Garcia, a spokeswoman for the City Attorney's Office, told Reuters this week.

``We expect to be treated just like the GAP, Starbucks and Coca-Cola,'' she said referring to popular brands for apparel, coffee, and soft drinks. ``Hollywood is the one industry that should be extra sensitive to the issue of intellectual property.'' Not to mention product placement.

Garcia, said the LAPD, its badge and its logo were registered for trademark and copyright protection in 1999 under a process started by then-City Attorney James Hahn, who is now the mayor. The new city attorney, Rocky Delgadillo, is vigorously enforcing those protections, she said.

It's a far cry from the days of such classic police dramas as ``Adam-12,'' and ``Dragnet,'' the landmark series starring Jack Webb as dead-pan Joe Friday, solving cases drawn copyright- free from the actual files of the Los Angeles Police Department.

With the LAPD now being treated as a brand name, veteran ``Law & Order'' producer Dick Wolf is likely to get a much different reception as he proceeds with plans to bring a modern version of ``Dragnet'' back to prime-time on ABC next year.producer of the long-running NBC hit drama ``Law & Order'' and other shows set in New York City have been unfettered by municipal trademark issues.

``The NYPD has been nothing but supportive and helpful in 15 consecutive years of filming on the streets of New York,'' Wolf said in a statement issued by his publicist on Thursday.

Neither has the veteran ABC cop show ``NYPD Blue'' had to deal with City Hall or the New York Police Department over licensing or trademarks, a writer and technical advisor to that show told the Los Angeles Times.

CBS, a division of Viacom Inc., referred queries about ``Robbery, Homicide Division'' to the show's producers, Universal Television, which declined comment.

But NBC West Coast executive vice president Marc Graboff took exception to the city's position, saying it could drive shows out of Los Angeles.

NBC, a unit of General Electric Co., said its ``Boomtown'' series ``will not be portraying the actual LAPD shield or logo in the series, which is within accepted industry and legal guidelines.''

Legal experts said the city may be on shaky ground by trying to assert a trademark or copyright interest in the use of the LAPD name or its depiction by the entertainment media.

``You're probably within your rights to make a television show about the LAPD or people in the LAPD ... without infringing,'' said entertainment lawyer Matthew Falley. ``There's a closer question of using the badge or the shield.''

Falley cited a federal appeals court ruling in California last month that held the 1997 pop hit ``Barbie Girl'' was a parody protected by the free-speech provision of the U.S. Constitution and thus did not breach Mattel Inc.'s trademark for its iconic Barbie doll.

Garcia, of the City Attorney's Office, said that the producers of the FX cable network's new Emmy-nominated show ``The Shield'' changed the name of the program from ``Rampart'' to avoid copyright conflicts with the city. Rampart is the name of a police station at the heart of a real-life LAPD corruption scandal.

``The point is they didn't leave town, they're shooting, they're successful and they're up for an Emmy. And we're glad that they're here,'' Garcia said.

A spokesman for FX, a unit of News Corp. Ltd.'s Fox Entertainment Group Inc., denied that producers of ``The Shield'' bowed to pressure from the city.

He said ``Rampart'' was a working title that the network decided was too obscure for viewers outside Los Angeles, and that the show always had been set in a fictional southern California community that was not Los Angeles, even though it looks like Los Angeles because it is shot Los Angeles.

Wonder when the US government will copyright the flag, or the President's seal? Perhaps they will trademark the outline of the Capitol building, Washington Monument, etc.

Can you imagine getting a lawyer letter telling you to cease and desist for having a graphical representation of the White House?

The good thing about this is that maybe we won't have to see Los Angeles on television anymore.

We expect to be treated just like the GAP, Starbucks and Coca-Cola

Yeah, but those companies don't tax you. They take your voluntary contributions. If LA wishes to do this, so be it. BTW, I thought the government was supposed to be a "public" institution - so why would they care about intellectual property?

"The city of Los Angeles has threatened legal action against the makers of two new TV police dramas if they use likenesses of the city's trademarked police department badges, logos, or even the LAPD's good name, without city permission."

The LAPD's "good name?" Aside from the Ramparts scandal and Mark Fuhrman's perjury, does the city contend that the evening TV news and the Los Angeles Times will have to pay the city to run stories on the LAPD?

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