Netflix Dismisses ‘Unofficial Bridgerton Musical’ Copyright Lawsuit

Songwriters Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear won the 2022 Grammy for best musical theater album. Netflix filed a lawsuit in a D.C. district court in July accusing Barlow and Bear of “blatant infringement of intellectual property rights.” Netflix finally decided not to pursue its copyright claim against the authors of “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical.”

No mention of a settlement between the streaming service and the musical’s creators, Emily Bear and Abigail Barlow, was made in the court document. The two had already, however, postponed this week’s performance of the musical at London’s Royal Albert Hall. According to Deadline, the streamer announced the dismissal in a filing in federal court in Washington DC.

Plaintiffs Netflix Worldwide Entertainment, LLC and Netflix Studios, LLC hereby dismiss this action with prejudice.

The pair and their business, Barlow & Bear, were accused of profiting through a July 26 staged performance of the musical at the Kennedy Center and a future performance set for the Royal Albert Hall in London, as well as “their own line of Bridgerton-themed merchandise.”

Barlow and Bear had not yet provided a court response to the lawsuit. The deadline for a response was on Thursday, but Netflix filed the dismissal “with prejudice,” barring further filing of the lawsuit. Neither Netflix nor representatives for Barlow and Bear responded to the request for comment.

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