Bit Parts

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit decided that the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) didn't commit libel, prima facie tort and tortious interference with contractual relations by sending cease-and-desist letters to block the production of unauthorized parody cards of baseball players. The appeals court noted in part that when the MLBPA sent the cease-and-desist letters to the card producer and its printer in 1993, the courts were split on whether parody was a fair use. Cardtoons L.C. v. Major League Baseball Players Association, 02-5134.

Sharman Rebuffed

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled that Sharman Networks Ltd., the owner of the Grokster peer-to-peer file-sharing software, lacked standing to file an antitrust counterclaim in a suit filed against Grokster by film studios and record companies over the unauthorized downloading of content. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster Ltd., 01-08541. Sharman alleged that the plaintiffs acted in restraint of trade by refusing to license copyrighted works to its business partner Altnet, which purchases rights for authorized downloading. According to the court, “Sharman's alleged injuries arise only because it stands to benefit from Altnet's potential success in the relevant market. As Sharman is neither a competitor nor customer in the restrained [licensed downloading] market, and because its injury is incidental, and not integral, to the alleged anticompetitive scheme, Sharman does not have standing.”

Claims Against RIAA End

A Manhattan federal court has issued a partial final judgment in favor of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) regarding third-party claims filed against the industry organization by MP3Board Inc. Arista Records Inc. v. MP3Board Inc., 00-4660. The underlying suit was filed by record companies against MP3Board over unauthorized Internet downloading. In its third-party claims, MP3Board alleged there were defects in copyright infringement notices that the RIAA sent to MP3Board's internet service providers under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The district court noted that in 2001 and 2002, it had dismissed MP3Board's claims and that the original record company plaintiffs' remaining claims for copyright infringement and unfair competition against MP3Board were “entirely severable from MP3Board's claims against the third party defendant RIAA.”

No Jurisdiction Found

The U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico ruled that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over a breach of contract suit filed over a recording agreement. The court found no federal copyright question in the complaint by artist Yesenia Droz-Serrano. Droz-Serrano v. Caribbean Records Inc., 03-1114.

Case Against Carey Enjoined

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld an injunction barring Christopher Selletti from pursuing state court litigation over his allegation that Mariah Carey falsely claimed authorship of the lyrics of the composition “Hero.” Selletti v. Carey, 02-7899. The Second Circuit had previously upheld the dismissal of Selletti's federal copyright claim with prejudice. Calling the case “vexatiously protracted litigation,” the appeals court noted in its most recent ruling, “The claims that Selletti raises in his state court petition have been litigated and 'actually decided' in federal court.” This included an allegation that Carey's lawyers had acted improperly in the federal proceeding. The district court and appeals courts had found that allegation “without foundation.”

“Perfect Storm” Issue Certified

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has certified to the Florida Supreme Court the question of whether the depiction of boat crew members in the film “The Perfect Storm” violated Fla. Stat. Sec. 540.08 as a commercial misappropriation. Tyne v. Time Warner Entertainment Co. L.P., 02-13281. (The district court had ruled that “commercial purpose” in Fla. Stat. '540.08 wasn't meant to extend liability to the use of an individual's name or likeness in an expressive medium like film.) But the appeals court decided that the portrayal of the boat captain as an obsessed fisherman didn't trigger the relational right of privacy of the captain's children because the portrayal wasn't “sufficiently egregious.”

Cease-and-Desist Letters Appropriate

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit decided that the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) didn't commit libel, prima facie tort and tortious interference with contractual relations by sending cease-and-desist letters to block the production of unauthorized parody cards of baseball players. The appeals court noted in part that when the MLBPA sent the cease-and-desist letters to the card producer and its printer in 1993, the courts were split on whether parody was a fair use. Cardtoons L.C. v. Major League Baseball Players Association, 02-5134.

Sharman Rebuffed

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled that Sharman Networks Ltd., the owner of the Grokster peer-to-peer file-sharing software, lacked standing to file an antitrust counterclaim in a suit filed against Grokster by film studios and record companies over the unauthorized downloading of content. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster Ltd., 01-08541. Sharman alleged that the plaintiffs acted in restraint of trade by refusing to license copyrighted works to its business partner Altnet, which purchases rights for authorized downloading. According to the court, “Sharman's alleged injuries arise only because it stands to benefit from Altnet's potential success in the relevant market. As Sharman is neither a competitor nor customer in the restrained [licensed downloading] market, and because its injury is incidental, and not integral, to the alleged anticompetitive scheme, Sharman does not have standing.”

Claims Against RIAA End

A Manhattan federal court has issued a partial final judgment in favor of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) regarding third-party claims filed against the industry organization by MP3Board Inc. Arista Records Inc. v. MP3Board Inc., 00-4660. The underlying suit was filed by record companies against MP3Board over unauthorized Internet downloading. In its third-party claims, MP3Board alleged there were defects in copyright infringement notices that the RIAA sent to MP3Board's internet service providers under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The district court noted that in 2001 and 2002, it had dismissed MP3Board's claims and that the original record company plaintiffs' remaining claims for copyright infringement and unfair competition against MP3Board were “entirely severable from MP3Board's claims against the third party defendant RIAA.”

No Jurisdiction Found

The U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico ruled that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over a breach of contract suit filed over a recording agreement. The court found no federal copyright question in the complaint by artist Yesenia Droz-Serrano. Droz-Serrano v. Caribbean Records Inc., 03-1114.