Californication - Show vs. RHCP

November 21st, 2007

You know that wickedly hilarious new show on Showtime starring David Duchovny as a wayward writer in L.A.? Well, the Chili Peppers are suing the network over its name, Californication. Apparently, Kiedis and gang are taking claim to the word that made their 1999 album (of the same name) and lead single a hit!

But the bigger question is, can Kiedis and gang claim title of a word that they didn’t even copyright? It’s all fair game, no?

I find it really hard to believe that the Chili Peppers would go to such great lengths to ensure that the word Californication would only be associated with their record and music! What do you think?

Posted on Wednesday, November 21st, 2007 at 2:44 pm by Leah and is filed under We <3 TV.

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9 Responses to “Californication - Show vs. RHCP”

  1. i can’t believe that. how can they sue? even on wikipedia it talks about how the term was used in the

    1970s to describe the situation on the west coast. RHCP weren’t even a band yet in 1972.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Californication_%28portmanteau%29

    By caitt. on November 21, 2007 at 8:19 pm |

  2. You would think they would have more things to spend there time on then trying to scam a few penny’s out of a tv network

    By Neroz on November 22, 2007 at 12:42 am |

  3. Weak! RHCP haven’t been innovators of anything since the mid-90s. That’s about when they stopped being relevant. Californication IS probably their last solid album, but they clearly didn’t coin the term.

    By kat on November 22, 2007 at 11:01 am |

  4. The song is copyrighted and the album is. and way the hell cant the show come up with an original show title, like Californication, why do they have to steal…c’mon cant they come up with something and not have to steal a title. To the last person who commented, they are one of the most orgnaial

    By Kathryn on November 22, 2007 at 6:00 pm |

  5. I’m definitely on the Chili Peppers’ side. The song is copyrighted and the album is. and why the hell cant the show come up with an original show title, like Californication, why do they have to steal…c’mon cant they come up with something and not have to steal a title. To the last person who commented, Kat, they are one of the most original and best bands to come along in the last 2 decades, that includes songs and album titles. Also they broke a record with Stadium Arcadium, it was the fastest selling album by a U.S. band in Europe. I dont think that anyone would like to steal something that someone else made.

    By Kathryn on November 22, 2007 at 6:10 pm |

  6. I *AM* an RHCP fan, believe it or not, despite not being a big fan of Stadium Arcadium. I think RHCP USED to be innovative, back when music was all about being different and everything wasn’t suuuuper played out, sampled, copied, etc. Now everyone’s caught up and unfortunately, as “early adopters”, RHCP are no longer setting trends or making waves.

    Whether or not Stadium Arcadium was ‘the fastest selling album in history’ - whatever. What matters more - speed or longevity? After the initial surge, did people CONTINUE to buy the album? Was it critically acclaimed like everything else (exception: One Hot Minute - ugh) they’ve done? Maroon 5 also sold TONS of albums in a very short amount of time, shortly after the release date…but now no one is buying either their album OR tickets to their shows. Q & Rolling Stone were the only media outlets to positively review Stadium Arcadium, but no one respects or cares about their opinions anymore.

    The fact does remain - “californication” the term was coined years ago. RHCP don’t own it.

    By kat on November 23, 2007 at 12:43 am |

  7. All I’m gonna say is that I LOVE LOVE LOVE this show and I don’t want them to have to change the name, or anything else for that matter.

    By Jodie E. on November 23, 2007 at 6:23 pm |

  8. Love all you guys who think you know what you’re talking about… This isn’t about COPYRIGHT, it’s about TRADEMARK (and yes, there is a difference) and the only company that holds a trademark on the term “Californication” is a clothing designer out of Phoenix. And the fact that RHCP wasn’t the originator of the term is of LITTLE import in the law. What will get them will be first amendment issues.

    By Todd on April 13, 2008 at 7:26 pm |

  9. I don’t know jack about copyright law, and about who owns the term, title, word, whatever ‘Californication’. I like both the band and the show a lot, and I think they have a lot in common. They have the same ambience, and I get the feeling their audiences must overlap to some extent. So I don’t think it’s a very grown-up thing from RHCP to sue the show, instead of being glad that after almost 10 years since the appearance of their album, someone has created something on the same theme, and that some people might actually take the record off a dusty shelf and listen to it once more. It’s kind of a looser, un-RHCP thing to do.

    By Gabriel D. on May 30, 2009 at 3:53 am |

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