Ninth Circuit: Heirs of “Pink Panther” coauthor do not retain interest in copyright in the films In a decision last week, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in a copyright case, holding that a coauthor of a story treatment is not necessarily a coauthor of a motion picture produced based on that treatment, and the factors applied to determine coauthorship led to the conclusion that the […] Continue Reading →
Tenth Circuit: Digital model of car not separately copyrightable because no originality In a decision this week, the Tenth Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendants in a copyright case, finding a digital work lacking sufficient originality to warrant copyright protection. The works at issue were three-dimensional computer models of cars for use in advertisements. The court agreed that the […] Continue Reading →
Ninth Circuit: No statutory damages for continuing infringement that began before registration In a decision last week, the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's award of statutory damages for copyright infringement and affirmed the district court's default judgment award of attorney's fees for trademark infringement. The plaintiff's copyright registration had an effective date of approximately one month after the first act of infringement, and nearly two years […] Continue Reading →
Eleventh Circuit combs over copyright law, idea-expression dichotomy in affirming noninfringement In a decision this week, the Eleventh Circuit upheld the district court's decision granting summary judgment of no copyright infringement to individuals and entities associated with two Trump buildings and denying the plaintiff leave to file a third amended complaint. In this regard, the court affirmed a finding that no reasonable, properly instructed jury could […] Continue Reading →
Elements of infringement claim not jurisdictional; “sale” occurs at location of buyer and seller In a decision yesterday, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's denial of the defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court also denied the defendant's post-verdict motion for judgment as a matter of law. The defendant contended that because it shipped its allegedly infringing products f.o.b. from its place of […] Continue Reading →
Wal-Mart learns a lesson in copyright licensing the hard way A story in yesterday's Wall Street Journal (via Bill Patry) illustrates how important it is for parties to a transaction to know what they're getting up-front. Starting way back in the 1970s, Wal-Mart hired an outside company, Flagler Productions, to document various aspects of Wal-Mart's operations. Flagler produced videos of Wal-Mart corporate officers and directors, […] Continue Reading →
Sixth Circuit: Partial fees to copyright defendant affirmed given plaintiff’s litigation tactics In a decision last week, the Sixth Circuit affirmed an award of partial attorney fees to a defendant in a copyright case. The plaintiff sued multiple defendants, alleging copyright infringement under numerous theories. One such theory was that receipt of royalties from the sale of infringing music rendered a party liable for the underlying infringement. […] Continue Reading →
Ninth Circuit: “Exclusive” license from only one copyright co-owner really a nonexclusive license In a decision last week, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court's dismissal of a copyright infringement claim for lack of standing, as well as several related claims. The plaintiff obtained an "exclusive" license for one of the exclusive rights from a single co-owner of several copyrighted works. However, because the plaintiff only obtained the […] Continue Reading →
Eleventh Circuit: One-satisfaction rule applies to copyright infringement awards In a decision this week, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the decision of a district court, holding the "one-satisfaction rule" does apply to infringement claims under the Copyright Act.This appeal arose out of a jury award to copyright plaintiff of almost $1.6 million against two defendants who infringed the plaintiff's rights in its used boat price […] Continue Reading →
Seventh Circuit: Dismissal with prejudice makes defendant “prevailing party” and eligible for fees In a decision yesterday, the Seventh Circuit clarified what is required for a party to be considered a "prevailing party" in a copyright case, and therefore be eligible for an award of attorneys' fees under § 505. In this case, the plaintiff asked for a voluntary dismissal without prejudice under Rule 41(a)(2), as the case […] Continue Reading →