Demetrious Polychron v. Jeff Bezos, Jennifer Salke, Simon Tolkien, Patrick McKay, John D. Payne, Amazon Studios LLC, Amazon Content Services LLC, The Tolkien Estate, The Tolkien Estate Limited, The Tolkien Trust, and Does 1-100
Published: Dec. 15, 2023 | Result Date: Aug. 14, 2023 | Filing Date: Apr. 14, 2023 |Case number: 2:23-cv-02831-SVW-E Bench Decision – Dismissal
Judge
Court
CD CA
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Katie M. Charleston
(Katie Charleston Law PC)
Defendant
Nicolas A. Jampol
(Davis, Wright & Tremaine LLP)
Samuel A. Turner
(Davis, Wright & Tremaine LLP)
Kevin L. Vick
(Jassy, Vick & Carolan LLP)
Facts
Plaintiff, Demetrious Polychron, is a fiction author, who wrote unlicensed sequels of the popular J.R.R. Tolkien franchise Lord of the Rings ("LOTR"). He brought various claims against Jeff Bezos and Amazon, allegeing that Amazon's LOTR spinoff television show, Rings of Power infringed on his copyright. Defendants moved to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. Pro. Rule 12(b)(6) arguing that plaintiff's work, regardless of whether it was registered, was an unauthorized derivative work that thus precluded him from bringing a copyright infringement claim.
Result
The court agreed with defendants. Copyright owners have the exclusive right to prepare or authorize derivative works under the Copyright Act. Accordingly, plaintiff's work was an unauthorized derivative work that was not entitled to copyright protection. The motion to dismiss was thus granted.
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