Apple, Amazon, Netflix Avoid ‘Fish Sticks’ Song Copyright Claims

A Manhattan federal court’s ruling that cleared three U.S. tech giants of allegations that they infringed a songwriters’ copyright when a burlesque documentary used part of a song about fish sticks was upheld Tuesday by the Second Circuit.

Netflix Inc., Amazon.com Inc., and Apple Inc., which streamed the documentary “Burlesque: Heart of the Glitter Tribe,” aren’t liable because the film made fair use of the song, according to an order issued by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Eight seconds of the 190-second children’s song “Fish Sticks n’ Tater Tots” ...