The Electronic Frontier Foundation said its federal court suit was aimed at protecting the free speech rights of a website publisher "who has suffered years of baseless legal threats over his parody of the Barney and Friends television show."

The suit against the Lyons Partnership claims that the operator of the children's program "has repeatedly sent meritless cease-and-desist letters" to Stuart Frankel, whose website depicts the purple Tyrannosaurus rex as a satanic figure who must be destroyed by a global "jihad."

The dinosaur's creators and Frankel have been in a back-and-forth legal battle for at least four years, EFF said.

The lawsuit seeks a court affirmation that the parody does not infringe Barney's copyright or trademark rights, EFF said.

"Barney's lawyers are sending out intimidating lawyer letters to parody websites that are clearly protected by the (US constitution's) First Amendment and fair use," said EFF attorney Fred von Lohmann.

"It's time for Barney to call off his lawyer armies and get back to entertaining children."

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