Feltner v. Columbia Pictures Television, Inc.

Feltner (defendant), through Krypton and several TV stations, fell behind on royalty payments owed to Columbia Pictures Television (plaintiff) under license agreements; when restructuring talks failed, Columbia terminated the licenses, but the stations kept broadcasting the programs anyway. Columbia sued for copyright infringement and elected statutory damages under Section 504(c), ranging from $500 to $20,000 per act "as the court considers just." Feltner demanded a jury trial on the damages amount; the district court refused, held a bench trial, and awarded $20,000 per infringement — $8,800,000 total. The Ninth Circuit rejected Feltner's jury-trial argument.