By Lucy Mohl
It's the war of words between Fox News and writer/satirist Al Franken. Fox filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Franken for use of the term "Fair and Balanced" in his latest book, "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right," claiming the network trademarked the phrase in 1995. Damages are unspecified, possibly because it's tough to find a town square with a good set of stocks these days. The whole brouhaha follows from what had to be the top-rated "Book TV" event ever, when Franken and O'Reilly traded verbal blows at the BookExpo writers' panel in Los Angeles, over the weekend of May 31st. Thanks to www.booktv.org, you can still watch the exchange.
It's an amazing suit, not because of the legal implications, but because it's such an unprecedented blunder on the part of Roger Ailes, the provocateur of perfect pitch. If Franken's not his secret love child, he should be, since Fox & company have just handed him a load free publicity, and a shooting spot up the Amazon best-seller list.
The rest is simply the pure joy following a "¿quién es más macho?" contest; although in a war of words, sorry, Franken's got the advantage. Fox's complaint calls Franken neither a journalist nor a television news personality. He is not a well-respected voice in American politics; rather, he appears to be shrill and unstable. His views lack any serious depth or insight."
Franken's response to the Washington Post: "And by the way, a few months ago, I trademarked the word 'funny.' So when Fox calls me 'unfunny,' they're violating my trademark. I am seriously considering a countersuit."
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