16 Case Duse, LLC v. Merkin
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
791 F.3d 247 (2d Cir. 2015)
Generally, inseparable creative contributions of a copyrighted work have no separate copyrights.
Relevant Facts
Krakovski (the plaintiff) hired Merkin (the defendant) to direct a film. The plaintiff entered work-for-hire agreements with all cast and crew members except for the defendant. After the defendant finished filming, the plaintiff gave him a copy of the raw film footage and entered into an agreement allowing the defendant to edit but to not distribute or copy it. Subsequently, the defendant submitted the work to a film festival, and the plaintiff sent a cease-and-desist letter to the defendant, claiming copyright. When the defendant continued to submit the film to other film festivals, the plaintiff sued, seeking an injunction. The trial court granted the plaintiff’s injunction and granted the plaintiff summary judgment on the basis that the plaintiff never intended to share the film’s authorship with the defendant, and that the defendant never intended to coauthor the film. The defendant appeals.
Issue
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Holding & Reasoning
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Concurrence
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Dissent
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Last updated:
December 2, 2020
Judicial Opinion
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Procedural History
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Citations
791 F.3d 247 (2d Cir. 2015)