Cameo Clips

COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT/STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York decided that the injury rule, rather than the discovery rule, applied to the three-year federal statute of limitations for a copyright infringement claim over the “Iron Man Theme” composition. The district court additionally found that a three-year statute of limitations for violation of property rights under New York law should apply to the plaintiff's common law claim of copyright infringement of his theme sound recording. Urbont v. Sony Music Entertainment, 11 Civ. 4516. Composer and record producer Jack Urbont developed the theme for such TV shows as The Guiding Light and General Hospital. In the 1960s, Urbont wrote the “Iron Man Theme” for a segment in The Marvel Super Heroes TV show. In June 2011, he filed suit alleging infringement of his hero theme in two recordings on Ghostface Killah's 2000 album Supreme Clientele. The parties agreed that the statute of limitations on Urbont's claims was tolled as of May 21, 2010. Sony then moved to dismiss Urbont's federal and state law claims.

Federal courts in the Southern District apply a discovery rule to plaintiffs in copyright ownership disputes. But District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald observed: “Neither the [U.S.] Supreme Court nor the Second Circuit has ruled on the appropriate accrual rule for federal copyright infringement claims.” Under the injury rule, a copyright claim accrues each time the copyright is infringed, instead of when the plaintiff knew or should reasonably have known of the infringement.

Posturing that “acts of copyright infringement are not 'inherently self-concealing' but rather are open and notorious in nature,” District Judge Buchwald decided that Urbont was time-barred from pursuing his federal claim for any song infringements that may have occurred prior to May 21, 2007. However, Judge Buchwald added that “the possibility of equitable tolling, particularly for cases of fraudulent concealment, works in concert with the injury rule to create a sensible regime under which infringement claims accrue in a predictable and consistent manner and yet plaintiffs may be excused for ignorance of their claims if the defendants are culpable for intentionally concealing the existence of those claims. In this regard, it should be noted that Urbont expressly withdrew any claim for equitable tolling due to fraudulent concealment in his opposition brief to the motion to dismiss.”

As for Urbont's state common-law claim over his “Iron Man Theme” sound recording, Judge Buchwald adopted the suit parties' agreement that the statute of limitations should be three years, per “an action to recover damages for an injury to property” under N.Y. C.P.L.R. '214(4).

The New York Appellate Division, First Department, decided that a reservation of rights that allowed the seller of ownership rights in a group of motion pictures to exploit the films in local markets didn't prevent the motion picture buyer from issuing national cable licenses for the movies. Richard Feiner and Co. Inc. v. Paramount Pictures Corp., 6227. In 1986, Feiner sold 17 movies, including Marjorie Morningstar and Court Martial of Billy Mitchell, to Paramount's predecessor in interest Republic Pictures Corp. Feiner later sued Paramount over alleged violation of Feiner's reserved exploitation rights. The complaint alleged breach of contract and sought an accounting. The New York County Supreme Court denied both Feiner's and Paramount's motions for summary judgment.

Reversing for dismissal of the complaint, the appellate court noted: “Contrary to plaintiff's allegations, we do not read the retained rights in the preexisting local Licenses as establishing the exclusive right to exploit the Pictures in the markets covered by those Licenses. On the contrary, a plain reading of Paragraph (2)(a) [of the 1986 agreement] establishes that plaintiff retained only the benefit of the performance of the licenses, namely the proceeds, if any, defendants received as a result of the exploitations of the pictures by the local licenses. The agreement, on its face, does not manifestly reserve to plaintiff any right to exploit the pictures in the national cable markets, or to collect proceeds from defendant's exploitation of its rights in the 17 Pictures. Indeed, a contrary reading would be inconsistent with Paragraph (2)(a)'s reversion provision. That provision states that the rights under the Licenses 'shall revert to the Purchaser' upon expiration or sooner termination of the Licenses. Thus, exhibition rights granted under the Licenses belong to either the licensee, while a License is in effect, or defendant, under the reversion clause. Either way, plaintiff itself has no exhibition rights in any U.S. market.”

COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT/STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York decided that the injury rule, rather than the discovery rule, applied to the three-year federal statute of limitations for a copyright infringement claim over the “Iron Man Theme” composition. The district court additionally found that a three-year statute of limitations for violation of property rights under New York law should apply to the plaintiff's common law claim of copyright infringement of his theme sound recording. Urbont v. Sony Music Entertainment, 11 Civ. 4516. Composer and record producer Jack Urbont developed the theme for such TV shows as The Guiding Light and General Hospital. In the 1960s, Urbont wrote the “Iron Man Theme” for a segment in The Marvel Super Heroes TV show. In June 2011, he filed suit alleging infringement of his hero theme in two recordings on Ghostface Killah's 2000 album Supreme Clientele. The parties agreed that the statute of limitations on Urbont's claims was tolled as of May 21, 2010. Sony then moved to dismiss Urbont's federal and state law claims.

Federal courts in the Southern District apply a discovery rule to plaintiffs in copyright ownership disputes. But District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald observed: “Neither the [U.S.] Supreme Court nor the Second Circuit has ruled on the appropriate accrual rule for federal copyright infringement claims.” Under the injury rule, a copyright claim accrues each time the copyright is infringed, instead of when the plaintiff knew or should reasonably have known of the infringement.

Posturing that “acts of copyright infringement are not 'inherently self-concealing' but rather are open and notorious in nature,” District Judge Buchwald decided that Urbont was time-barred from pursuing his federal claim for any song infringements that may have occurred prior to May 21, 2007. However, Judge Buchwald added that “the possibility of equitable tolling, particularly for cases of fraudulent concealment, works in concert with the injury rule to create a sensible regime under which infringement claims accrue in a predictable and consistent manner and yet plaintiffs may be excused for ignorance of their claims if the defendants are culpable for intentionally concealing the existence of those claims. In this regard, it should be noted that Urbont expressly withdrew any claim for equitable tolling due to fraudulent concealment in his opposition brief to the motion to dismiss.”

As for Urbont's state common-law claim over his “Iron Man Theme” sound recording, Judge Buchwald adopted the suit parties' agreement that the statute of limitations should be three years, per “an action to recover damages for an injury to property” under N.Y. C.P.L.R. '214(4).

The New York Appellate Division, First Department, decided that a reservation of rights that allowed the seller of ownership rights in a group of motion pictures to exploit the films in local markets didn't prevent the motion picture buyer from issuing national cable licenses for the movies. Richard Feiner and Co. Inc. v. Paramount Pictures Corp., 6227. In 1986, Feiner sold 17 movies, including Marjorie Morningstar and Court Martial of Billy Mitchell, to Paramount's predecessor in interest Republic Pictures Corp. Feiner later sued Paramount over alleged violation of Feiner's reserved exploitation rights. The complaint alleged breach of contract and sought an accounting. The New York County Supreme Court denied both Feiner's and Paramount's motions for summary judgment.

Reversing for dismissal of the complaint, the appellate court noted: “Contrary to plaintiff's allegations, we do not read the retained rights in the preexisting local Licenses as establishing the exclusive right to exploit the Pictures in the markets covered by those Licenses. On the contrary, a plain reading of Paragraph (2)(a) [of the 1986 agreement] establishes that plaintiff retained only the benefit of the performance of the licenses, namely the proceeds, if any, defendants received as a result of the exploitations of the pictures by the local licenses. The agreement, on its face, does not manifestly reserve to plaintiff any right to exploit the pictures in the national cable markets, or to collect proceeds from defendant's exploitation of its rights in the 17 Pictures. Indeed, a contrary reading would be inconsistent with Paragraph (2)(a)'s reversion provision. That provision states that the rights under the Licenses 'shall revert to the Purchaser' upon expiration or sooner termination of the Licenses. Thus, exhibition rights granted under the Licenses belong to either the licensee, while a License is in effect, or defendant, under the reversion clause. Either way, plaintiff itself has no exhibition rights in any U.S. market.”