As previously reported by Variety and Deadline, Netflix has dropped its copyright infringement action against Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, the writers of The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical. According to a copy of the court document acquired by Deadline, Netflix requested to “dismiss this action with prejudice,” which means the streamer cannot renew the lawsuit in the future.
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Netflix has dropped its lawsuit against the authors of The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical
The two were supposed to answer Netflix’s lawsuit on Thursday, but they never did, and Netflix dropped the claim on Friday. It’s unknown if they struck an agreement with the streamer, but the two canceled their September 20th performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall last month, when they were scheduled to play their songs with the BBC Orchestra.
Netflix sued Barlow and Bear in July after they conducted a live, sold-out concert in Washington DC devoted to their Bridgerton-inspired record, saying the event was not approved by the business and that the duo “stretches ‘fan fiction’ far beyond its breaking point.” It also claimed that it would confuse fans who wanted to attend the Bridgerton Experience, Netflix’s own Bridgerton-themed event held in a number of places, including Washington, DC.
Following the release of Netflix’s Bridgerton series in 2020, Barlow and Bear started composing music inspired by the episode on TikTok. The effort ultimately grew into a 15-song CD, which won a Grammy earlier this year. Netflix first voiced support for the song, writing on Twitter that it was “blown away” by how the idea evolved.
