Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. v. Carol Publishing Group, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
150 F.3d 132 (2d Cir. 1998)
Relevant factsFree
Golub (defendant) wrote The Seinfeld Aptitude Test, a 132-page trivia book with 643 questions drawn from nearly every aired Seinfeld episode, including many direct quotes, published by Carol Publishing (defendant); despite notice from copyright owner Castle Rock Entertainment (plaintiff) of potential infringement, the defendants continued distributing the book, and Castle Rock sued. The district court granted Castle Rock summary judgment, and Golub and Carol Publishing appealed.
IssueFree
Whether a trivia book compiling exact scenarios and quotations from a copyrighted television show, without adding commentary or analysis, qualifies as a transformative fair use.
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