AL FRANKEN

SENATOR (D), MINNESOTA

Born: 1951 • Year Elected: 2008 • Contributions Received: $10,040,765 • Votes Missed:
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it • Website:http://franken.senate.gov • Phone: 202-224-5641

CONTROVERSIES: Franken parodied Fox News motto, "fair and balanced," in his book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. Fox responded with a lawsuit that claimed that his use of the phrase "fair and balanced" infringed upon the company's trademark and that photos of Bill O'Reilly should not be used on the cover. [1]

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin dismissed the Fox claim: "There are hard cases and there are easy cases. This is an easy case in my view and wholly without merit, both factually and legally ... Parody is a form of artistic expression protected by the First Amendment and the keystone of parody is imitation ...It is ironic that a media company, which should be seeking to protect the First Amendment, is seeking to undermine it by claiming a monopoly on the phrase, 'Fair and Balanced.'," Chin said.

From Sourcewatch

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