The suit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear stole intellectual property from Netflix to create an international brand. Barlow and Bear created “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical,” a musical version of the show, after they started posting about the show on TikTok soon after it launched in December 2020. The pair have received accolades for the musical, winning a Grammy Award this year for Best Musical Theater Album. They began to create musical compositions based on characters, scenes, dialogue and plot points, as others did. Netflix told Barlow and Bear directly when asked that the compositions were unauthorized, according to the lawsuit. The complaint states that they are still working on their album. “Every step of the way, Barlow & Bear representatives repeatedly assured Netflix that they understood Netflix’s position and led Netflix to believe that Netflix would be consulted before Barlow & Bear took steps beyond streaming of their album online in audio-only format,” the lawsuit said. reads. Netflix claims their shows were fake and the two are now profiting from its intellectual property. The complaint states that Barlow and Bear performed a “massive, speculative show” titled “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Album Live in Concert” in front of a sold-out audience at the Kennedy Center despite repeated objections from Netflix. Zeldin attack sparks debate over cash bail Black voter support for Supreme Court plummets: poll He reports that the show featured more than a dozen songs that copied dialogue, character traits, expression, and other elements verbatim from the series. Barlow and Bear misrepresented that they were using Netflix’s “BRIDGERTON” trademark with permission, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit says the couple plans to stage another performance of their musical in London, take it on a world tour and promote their own Bridgerton-themed merchandise. Netflix and Barlow and Bear did not immediately respond to requests from The Hill for comment.
