Owner of `Wish Upon a Star' song loses Fox lawsuit

A judge has tossed out a lawsuit accusing the makers of "The Family Guy" of illegally twisting the song "When You Wish Upon a Star" into an anti-Semitic ballad.

Manhattan federal Judge Deborah Batts says Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Broadcasting Co. and the Cartoon Network were within their rights to spoof the song in an episode of "The Family Guy." The episode first aired in 2003.

Music publishing house Bourne Co. sued the companies to try to stop distribution of the episode. It was titled "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein" and relied on the premise that the main character had to hire a Jewish person to care for his family finances.

The judge said Bourne's copyright does not protect it from parody.