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CABELL v. SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
714 F.Supp.2d 452 (2010)
Robert W. CABELL, Plaintiff,
v.
SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT, INC., et al., Defendants.
No. 09 Civ. 1610(WHP).
United States District Court, S.D. New York.
May 25, 2010.
MEMORANDUM & ORDERWILLIAM H. PAULEY, III, District Judge: Plaintiff Robert W. Cabell ("Cabell") brings this action for copyright infringement and unfair competition against Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. ("Sony"), Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. ("Columbia"), Pulse Advertising, Inc. ("Pulse"), Happy Madison, Inc. ("HM"), Adam Sandler ("Sandler"), Robert Smigel ("Smigel"), and Judd Apatow ("Apatow" and, collectively, "Defendants"). Cabell claims that the film You Don't Mess With the Zohan and its marketing materials infringed copyrights in works featuring Jayms Blonde ("Blonde"), a character created by Cabell. Defendants move for summary judgment dismissing all of Cabell's claims. For the following reasons, Defendants' motion for summary judgment is granted and this action is dismissed. BACKGROUNDI. The Jayms Blonde Works Cabell is the creator of several works (collectively, the "Blonde Works") featuring the exploits of a gay former U.S. Navy SEAL who divides his time between work as a hairdresser and service as a secret agent. (Defendants' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts In Support of Their Motion for Summary Judgment dated Jan. 15, 2010 ("Defs. 56.1 Stmt.") ¶¶ 1-2.) The Blonde Works chronicle Blonde's battle against an evil organization known as Zealous Environmental Nazis Ruthlessly Obliterating Nature ("ZENRON"). The Blonde Works are light in tone and replete with humor based on gay double-entendre. (Defs. 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶ 1-2.) The cover of Cabell's novel, The Hair-Raising Adventures of Jayms Blonde: Project Popcorn, features a live model with blonde hair and arms outstretched, holding a gold-colored blow dryer in both hands in the manner of a handgun. (See Declaration of Robert Potter dated Jan. 15, 2010 ("Potter Decl.") Ex. B: Cover of The Hair-Raising Adventures of Jayms Blonde; see also Appendix 1.) The novel explains that Blonde's blow dryer is actually a "mini Uzi blow-dryer" which "passes through metal detectors because it's made completely of synthetic materials. The bullets are Teflon and come in regular, heat-seeking, and armor-piercing configurations." (Potter Decl. Ex. HH: The Hair-Raising Adventures of Jayms Blonde: Project Popcorn at 20.)
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