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VHT Inc. v. Zillow Group
The mere possibility of future display of another's copyrighted images did not violate the copyright owner's display right, and an alleged infringer's active participation is required for direct infringement.
Copyright 9th Mar. 18, 2019
Fourth Estate Pub. Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com
Under 17 U.S.C. Section 411(a), 'registration has been made' not when an application for registration is filed, but when the Register has registered a copyright after examining a properly filed application.
Copyright USSC Mar. 5, 2019
Rimini Street, Inc. v. Oracle USA, Inc.
Copyright Act gives courts discretion to award 'full costs' to a party in copyright litigation but courts may not award litigation expenses not specified in Sections 1821 and 1920 absent explicit authority.
Copyright USSC Mar. 5, 2019
Amended Opinion: Fahmy v. Jay-Z
Holder of foreign copyright who claims that moral right to prohibit derivative works of copyrighted material entitles him to standing lacks standing where federal law does not recognize right asserted.
Copyright 9th Nov. 2, 2018
Amended Opinion: ABS Entertainment v. CBS Corp.
Remastered sound recordings that do not add or remove any sounds or change the sequences of sounds lack originality and thus, are not eligible for independent copyright protection as a derivative work.
Copyright 9th Nov. 1, 2018
Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin
District court erred by failing to instruct jury that under extrinsic test there can be copyright protection on the basis of a sufficiently original combination of otherwise non-protectable music elements.
Copyright 9th Oct. 1, 2018
ABS Entertainment v. CBS Corp.
Remastered sound recordings that do not add or remove any sounds or change the sequences of sounds lack originality and thus, are not eligible for independent copyright protection as a derivative work.
Copyright 9th Aug. 21, 2018
Ameded Opinion: Stevens v. Corelogic
Grant of summary judgment affirmed where plaintiffs fail to show that defendant had mental state required by 17 U.S.C. Section 1202(b).
Copyright 9th Aug. 7, 2018
Glacier Films v. Turchin
Where court's denial of attorney fees is based at least in part on court's exasperation with other, similar but unrelated suits, denial is abuse of discretion.
Copyright 9th Jul. 25, 2018
Amended Opinion: Williams v. Gaye
Jury instruction as to scienter requirement in copyright case does not warrant new trial, particular where instructions, as a whole, make plain the applicable law.
Copyright 9th Jul. 12, 2018
Close v. Sotheby's
California Resale Royalties Act 'fundamentally reshapes' federal copyright rules and is thus expressly preempted.
Copyright 9th Jul. 9, 2018
Experian Information Solutions Inc. v. Nationwide Marketing Services Inc.
Summary judgment affirmed where plaintiff in copyright infringement action fails to present version of copyrighted material that defendant allegedly infringed.
Copyright 9th Jun. 28, 2018
Stevens v. Corelogic
Grant of summary judgment affirmed where plaintiffs fail to show that defendant had mental state required by 17 U.S.C. Section 1202(b).
Copyright 9th Jun. 21, 2018
Fahmy v. Jay-Z
Holder of foreign copyright who claims that moral right to prohibit derivative works of copyrighted material entitles him to standing lacks standing where federal law does not recognize right asserted.
Copyright 9th Jun. 1, 2018
Naruto v. Slater
Non-human animals lack statutory standing under Copyright Act.
Copyright 9th Apr. 24, 2018
Williams v. Gaye
Jury instruction as to scienter requirement in copyright case does not warrant new trial, particular where instructions, as a whole, make plain the applicable law.
Copyright 9th Mar. 22, 2018
Ventura Content v. Motherless
Operator of pornography aggregator qualifies for DMCA safe harbor defense where he lacked actual or apparent knowledge of copyright violations and acted expeditiously to remove them from site when made aware.
Copyright 9th Mar. 15, 2018
Rentmeester v. Nike
No copyright infringement where two photographs are not substantially similar according to photographs’ different objective details.
Copyright 9th Feb. 28, 2018
Folkens v. Wyland Worldwide
Copyright infringement action unsuccessful where contested element, two dolphins crossing, is imagine expressed in nature and thus part of common heritage of humankind.
Copyright 9th Feb. 15, 2018
Folkens v. Wyland Worldwide
Copyright infringement action unsuccessful where contested element, two dolphins crossing, is imagine expressed in nature and thus part of common heritage of humankind.
Copyright 9th Feb. 5, 2018
Oracle USA Inc. v. Ramini Street Inc.
Copyright misuse doctrine does not preclude copyright owners from using conditions to control the use of copyrighted material.
Copyright 9th Jan. 9, 2018
Axiom Foods Inc. v. Acerchem International Inc.
While defendant's act of infringement may be intentional, defendant did not expressly aim intentional act at forum state of California to confer jurisdiction.
Copyright 9th Nov. 2, 2017
DRK Photo v. McGraw-Hill Global Education Holdings LLC
Stock photograph agency lacks standing to sue for copyright infringement where agreements with photographers inadequately transferred ownership interest to confer standing.
Copyright 9th Sep. 13, 2017
Amended Opinion: Mavrix Photographs LLC v. LiveJournal Inc.
Summary judgment erroneously granted in favor of LiveJournal concerning posting of copyrighted material on popular online community, 'Oh No They Didn't!'
Copyright 9th Aug. 31, 2017
Mavrix Photographs LLC v. LiveJournal Inc.
Summary judgment erroneously granted in favor of LiveJournal concerning posting of copyrighted material on popular online community, 'Oh No They Didn't!'
Copyright Apr. 10, 2017
Maloney v. T3Media Inc.
Special motion to strike properly granted where Copyright Act preempted former student athletes' common law and California statutory publicity-rights claims.
Copyright Apr. 6, 2017
Unicolors Inc. v. Urban Outfitters Inc.
Summary judgment properly granted in favor of plaintiff on copyright dispute where evidence of defendant's copying of copyrighted design was overwhelming.
Copyright Apr. 4, 2017
Design Data Corp. v. Unigate Enterprise Inc.
In copyright infringement dispute, summary judgment in favor of defendant reversed in part where genuine issue of material fact exists regarding unauthorized downloading claim.
Copyright Feb. 10, 2017
Perfect 10 Inc. v. Giganews Inc.
In copyright dispute involving Usenet, district court does not err in concluding that defendants did not directly infringe copyrights.
Copyright Jan. 23, 2017
Antonick v. Electronic Arts Inc.
Source code developer for original Madden football game not entitled to royalties for Electronic Art's Sega and Nintendo versions of the popular game.
Copyright Nov. 22, 2016