## Facts

- Elsmere Music, Inc. owned the copyright in the “I Love New York” advertising jingle used in New York State’s widely publicized tourism campaign.
- NBC aired a May 20, 1978 *Saturday Night Live* sketch set in the biblical city of Sodom in which city officials sought to improve tourism by launching an upbeat campaign.
- The sketch included an a cappella song, “I Love Sodom,” set to the tune of “I Love New York,” repeating the modified slogan several times.
- Elsmere sued NBC for copyright infringement based on the unauthorized use of the musical material from the jingle.

## Issues

1. Whether NBC’s use of the “I Love New York” jingle in the “I Love Sodom” *Saturday Night Live* sketch constituted fair use as parody/satire rather than actionable copyright infringement.
2. Whether the sketch sufficiently targeted the original jingle and campaign (as opposed to merely mocking New York or another subject) to qualify as parody for fair-use purposes.
3. Whether NBC copied more of the jingle than necessary to achieve the parodic purpose.
4. Whether the broadcast was likely to harm the existing or potential market for the original jingle or its licensing.

## Decision

- The district court entered judgment for NBC, holding the “I Love Sodom” use was fair use.
- The court found the sketch functioned as satirical parody by drawing an explicit parallel between a boosterish campaign to rehabilitate New York’s image and an absurdly similar campaign for Sodom.
- The court held NBC took only what was reasonably necessary to make the original recognizable to the audience.
- The court found no meaningful likelihood of market substitution or harm to the jingle’s value as a tourism advertisement or licensable work.
- The Second Circuit affirmed per curiam.

## Legal Principles

- Parody or satire may qualify as fair use when it comments on or criticizes the original work or the broader message embodied in the original work’s use.
- A parodist may copy a limited, recognizable portion of a work to “conjure up” the original, but the taking must be proportionate to the parodic purpose.
- Market-effect analysis focuses on whether the challenged use acts as a substitute for the original or impairs its licensing or commercial value in a realistic way.
- Even when a work is creative and commercially exploited, fair use may apply if the purpose is parodic, the amount taken is limited, and market harm is unlikely.

## Conclusion

The court held that NBC’s “I Love Sodom” sketch was a fair use parody of the “I Love New York” jingle and its promotional campaign, because the sketch used only as much as necessary to make the reference recognizable and did not plausibly threaten the jingle’s market or licensing value.


Elsmere Music, Inc. v. Nat'l Broad. Co., 482 F. Supp. 741 (S.D.N.Y. 1980)