Bill Cosby vs. the internet

The New York Times posted a story earlier this week about Bill Cosby sending a cease and desist letter to Channel101.com, who hosted the parody cartoon "House of Cosbys":

Data Analysis Cosby and Toothpaste Cosby may be the height of humor to fans of the online parody "House of Cosbys," but the man who inspired them is not laughing.

Last June, Justin Roiland, the creator of the animated series "House of Cosbys," and the producers of Channel101.com, the Web site showing it, received cease and desist letters from lawyers for Bill Cosby, famous for his classic stand-up routines and for television hits like "Fat Albert" and "The Cosby Show."

The "House of Cosbys" cartoon tells the story of Mitchell Reynolds, an obsessed Bill Cosby fan who builds a machine that clones Cosbys, each of whom has a special power (like data analysis). It had been the No. 1 rated show on Channel101.com for three consecutive months.

Dan Harmon, who runs Channel101.com, issued a statement about the situation to the Wall Street Journal; I thought this quote was great:

The actions of Cosby's legal team are somewhat laughable, somewhat sad and ultimately symbolic of a quantum shift in the business of entertainment: The internet is breaking a zillion dollar pinata, free candy is flying everywhere and the candy companies are understandably upset. You can't control digital information the way you can control radios, television and movies. Lawyers threatening web sites, the FCC clamoring to regulate cable, record labels making speeches about mp3s: I hear it all as a death rattle. They have my sympathy but not my respect.