On the latest episode of Dinner With The King, Jerry Lawler revealed that WWE nearly found themselves in some copyright infringement troubles with their upcoming Raw pay-per-view. He reveals how they avoided the situation and worked out a deal with Jerry Lee Lewis, who owns the usage of Great Balls of Fire (18:45 mark of show):
“My personal attorney here in Memphis is Joe Barton. Good friend of mine and my attorney. I got a phone call from Joe a few weeks ago, and Joe also represents Jerry Lee Lewis.
And Joe said, “Hey Jerry, do you happen to know who I would contact at the WWE about copyright infringement?”
I go, “What? What are you talking about?”
He goes, “Well, we understand they are doing a pay-per-view called Great Balls of Fire and Jerry Lee has that phrase trademarked. He has ever since they recorded the song.”
So, I put him in touch with the WWE people, gave him a name. Apparently, he called them and got everything worked out. Not only are they using the name, they are using Jerry Lee’s song, which is awesome.”
For the full interview, check out Dinner With The King.
Soucek’s Analysis: Besides how bizarre it is that a pay-per-view is named “Great Balls of Fire”, it’s just as weird that WWE’s legal team didn’t check to see if there was a trademark on the phrase. Considering the song is decades old, you’d figure someone would have looked into it!
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