Fox laughed out of court
 As everybody except Fox News could predict, the court case it has brought against satirist Al Franken over using the words "fair and balanced" in the book title was thrown out of court as without merit. Judge Denny Chin of United States District Court called the motion "wholly without merit, both factually and legally" and even said that trademark protection for the common phrase "Fair and Balanced" was unrealistic.
"There are hard cases and there are easy cases. This is an easy case," said U.S. District Judge Denny Chin. "This case is wholly without merit both factually and legally."
Several times during the proceedings, Chin forced the Fox laywers to answer tough questions in a stupid way, making the courtroom erupt in laughter.
One round of laughter was prompted when Judge Chin asked, "Do you think that the reasonable consumer, seeing the word `lies' over Mr. O'Reilly's face would believe Mr. O'Reilly is endorsing this book?"
The giggling continued as Dori Ann Hanswirth, a lawyer for Fox, replied, "To me, it's quite ambiguous as to what the message is here."
She continued, "It does not say `parody' or `satire.' "
Ms. Hanswirth said Fox's "signature slogan" was also blurred, because people who were not associated with the network, which owns the Fox News Channel, also appear on the cover with Mr. O'Reilly.
Judge Chin said, "The president and the vice president are also on the cover. Is someone going to consider that they are affiliated with Fox?"
The courtroom broke into laughter again.
Al Franken's book has soared in the bestseller lists after Fox has given it free advertising, reaching #1 at Amazon's.
From the reaction in the courtroom, it appears Fox' lawyers can fall back on a carreer in comedy if they find themselves without a job in the legal profession.
8:25:29 PM 
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