Morrissey v. Proctor & Gamble
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
379 F.2d 675 (1st Cir. 1967)
Relevant factsFree
Morrissey (plaintiff) copyrighted a basic set of sweepstakes-entry rules covering routine matters like where to write personal information and what to do without a social security number; Proctor & Gamble (defendant) published very similar rules for its own sweepstakes, and Morrissey sued for copyright infringement. The district court granted Proctor & Gamble summary judgment, and Morrissey appealed.
IssueFree
Whether, when an uncopyrightable idea is so narrow that there is only one or a few ways to express it, the expression of the idea is copyrightable.
Related cases
ATC Distribution Group, Inc. v. Whatever It Takes Transmissions & Parts, Inc.402 F.3d 700 (2005)National Basketball Association v. Motorola, Inc.105 F.3d 841 (2d Cir. 1997)Lenz v. Universal Music Corp.801 F.3d. 1126 (2015)Nash v. CBS, Inc.899 F.2d 1537 (1990)Lenz v. Universal Music Corp.815 F.3d 1145 (2018)