Midler v. Ford Motor Company

849 F.2d 460 (9th Cir. 1988)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D advertised the Ford Lincoln Mercury with a series of nineteen 30 or 60-second television commercials in what D's agency called 'The Yuppie Campaign.' Different popular songs of the seventies were sung on each commercial. The agency tried to get 'the original singers,' but in ten cases, the agency had the songs sung by 'sound a likes.' P was done by a sound alike. P is a nationally known actress and singer of almost instant recognition. The agency contacted P's manager, Jerry Edelstein. P was not interested in commercials. The agency then sought out Ula Hedwig whom had been one of 'the Harlettes' a backup singer for P for ten years. Hedwig was told they wanted someone to sing 'Do You Want To Dance' and who sounded like P. Hedwig made an a capella demo and got the job. During the work, Hedwig was told to make it sound just like P. When people heard the commercial, P was told that it 'sounded exactly' like her record of 'Do You Want To Dance.' Hedwig was told by many that they thought it was P singing the commercial. Neither the name nor the picture of P was used in the commercial. P sued D. At issue, in this case, is only the protection of P's voice. The court believed there was no legal principle preventing imitation of P's voice and so gave summary judgment for D. P appealed.