Lawsuit Filed Against Ity & Fancy Cat

The Ity and Fancy Cat Show's two main characters are being sued for damages by a producer and filmmaker, who is claiming to hold the copyrights to the show, which he alleged have been infringed by the popular comedians.

Michael Williams, also known as 'Keyboard Money Mike', through the law firm Carolyn Reid & Co, has filed suit in the Supreme Court, seeking 50 per cent of the profits generated by the show since its first airing on April 25, 2008, plus interest.

Williams is seeking statutory damages under the Copyright Act for each alleged infringement, in his claim of being creator and/or joint author of the Ity and Fancy Cat Show and the format used for the show's television series which is aired on Sundays on TVJ. Williams is also claiming copyrights for the music used to introduce the show at each airing and when it is being advertised.

Among the declarations being sought by Williams is that defendants Ian 'Ity' Ellis and Alton 'Fancy Cat' Hardware breached his copyright. Ellis International has also been named as third defendant in the matter.

Williams is also seeking an order directing the defendants to account for all monies received in relation to the show; an order for the preparing and rendering of accounts in relation to the current production; and that all monies "found owing to the claimant be paid forthwith".

The relationship among the three, according to the lawsuit, developed after Williams approached the comedic acts about doing the show after watching them perform at a local event. A proposal was eventually agreed upon in September of 2006. There was also an agreement that the profits generated from the project would be shared on a 50/50 basis, the lawsuit claims.

According to the lawsuit, throughout the existence of the show, the credits reflected that the show was based "after an original idea by Michael Williams".

But in June, after attending the launch of the show's fourth season, which Williams said he was contracted to produce, a dispute later developed among the men after "Williams noticed that his input in the show was not publicly recognised. In an e-mail on July 22 to Williams, the lawsuit says, the defendants unequivocally stated: "You are neither the creator nor owner of this show."

"By letter dated July 22, 2011, the claimant instructed the defendants to provide an accounting of all the monies that had been generated by the business he started and warned the defendants of the threat of legal proceedings if they continued to infringe the claimant's copyright by causing the show to be broadcast.

"Notwithstanding the threat of legal action, the defendants have refused to provide an accounting of the business and continue to infringe the protected works of the claimant, the particulars of which are set out below," the suit says.