'NSync's Legal Battle Over Puppets Is Over - Burglars Get Probation

LOS ANGELES (N Sync Fans) - Monday (April 15) saw a flurry of legal activity in the 'NSync camp.

A U.S. District Court judge in Los Angeles dismissed a November 2000 copyright infringement lawsuit against the pop group by puppeteers Sid and Marty Krofft, according to the Associated Press.

The Kroffts, who designed the 25-foot puppets used by 'NSync for its 2000 American Music Awards performance of "Bye Bye Bye," and who are best known for such TV shows as H.R. Pufnstuf, Land of the Lost, and The Bugaloos, claimed the group's use of the puppets' pictures on its No Strings Attached concert programs and backstage passes was a copyright violation. The judge threw out all claims in the case.

In related news, a Florida judge has sentenced four men accused of burglarizing the rented vacation home of 'NSync's Justin Timberlake and his former girlfriend, Britney Spears, in Destin, Fla., to three years probation, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News.

The accused had faced up to 20 months in jail for the September 2001 crime, but prosecutors struck a deal with the men in which they agreed to plea no-contest to the charges as well as sign a nondisclosure agreement. In other words, they have to remain silent about what they stole and what they saw inside the house, which includes a video of "personal footage," although they reportedly contain nothing scandalous.