''The Trivia Encyclopedia'' is a 1974 book written by Fred L. Worth. A best-selling book in its day, ''The Trivia Encyclopedia'' was brought back to public consciousness in the 1980s, when author Worth unsuccessfully sued the makers of ''

Trivial Pursuit ''Trivial Pursuit'' is a board game in which winning is determined by a player's ability to answer trivia and popular culture questions. Players move their pieces around a board, the squares they land on determining the subject of a question the ...

'' for

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...

. Worth claimed that they had sourced their questions from his books, even to the point of reproducing misprints and typographical errors. The "smoking gun" was ''Trivial Pursuit''s assertion that the TV character

Columbo ''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

had the first name "Philip". This "fact" originally appeared in Worth's book, but it was actually an invention of Worth's that was entirely untrue.

Columbo controversy

Lt. Columbo's first name was never spoken aloud in the TV series ''

''. When pressed, he would insist that it was "Lieutenant". The "fact" that the Lieutenant's full name was "Philip Columbo" was planted by Worth in his book (and its sequels) in an attempt to catch out anyone who might try to violate his copyright. In 1984, he filed a $300 million lawsuit against the distributors of the board game ''

'', claiming that they had stolen their questions from his books. The apparent ace up his sleeve was a ''Trivial Pursuit'' reference to the TV character of "Philip Columbo"—despite the first name "Philip" being an invention of Worth's. The makers of ''Trivial Pursuit'' did not deny that they sourced material from Worth's book. Instead, they argued that: # Facts themselves are not eligible for receiving a copyright # There was nothing improper about using Worth's book simply as one of the many sources from which the game's fact-based material originated. The judge agreed, also noting that ''Trivial Pursuit'' was a substantially different product from an encyclopedia—the board game used and arranged their fact-based material in a very different manner from any of the sources it used. The judge ruled in favor of ''Trivial Pursuit''. The decision was appealed, and in September 1987 the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * Distric ...

upheld the ruling. Worth asked the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

to review the case, but the Court declined, denying

certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of a prerogative writ in England, issued by a superior court to direct that the recor ...

in March 1988. (''cert. denied.'') However, the "Philip Columbo" misinformation lived on in popular culture, at least for the next several years. Several sources cited the name "Philip Columbo" as the Columbo character's full name, variously claiming that the name was either in the original script for the Columbo stage play ''Prescription: Murder'' or that it was visible on his police badge. Neither assertion is true. In fact, close-ups in two episodes of a signature on Columbo's police badge reveal that his name is Frank

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...

even ran a 1980s

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

campaign that mentioned "Lt. Philip Columbo" as the most famous driver of the Peugeot

convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a Car, passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary across eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air drivin ...

References

External links

Columbo's First Name and The Supreme Court - The "Philip Columbo" Story
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trivia Encyclopedia, The Columbo Specialized encyclopedias Trivia books