No. 18-72

DRK Photo v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Lower Court: Second Circuit
Docketed: 2018-07-13
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response Waived
Tags: 17-usc-501b beneficial-ownership circuit-split copyright-act copyright-infringement copyright-ownership copyright-ownership-transfer infringement-claims standing statutory-construction statutory-standing
Key Terms:
ERISA Antitrust Copyright Patent JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2018-09-24
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether an unequivocal transfer of copyright ownership, together with accrued claims, is effective to give the transferee the statutory right to sue as legal owner of copyright under 17 U.S.C. § 501(b), even when the purpose of the transfer is to facilitate an infringement action

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED 1. Whether an unequivocal transfer of copyright ownership, together with accrued claims, is effective to give the transferee the statutory right to sue as legal owner of copyright under 17 U.S.C. § 501(b), even when the purpose of the transfer is to facilitate an infringement action; 2. Whether an assignee of an accrued claim who is not a legal or beneficial owner of copyright has standing to sue for infringement, as the Fifth Circuit ruled in Prather,! or does not have standing, as the Ninth Circuit ruled in Silvers;? and 3. Whether, under 17 U.S.C. § 501(b), the term “beneficial owner’—which the Copyright Act does not define—extends to third parties who have been granted the right to authorize §106 rights and derive income from their exploitation.

Docket Entries

2018-10-01
Petition DENIED.
2018-08-15
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/24/2018.
2018-08-09
Waiver of right of respondent John Wiley & Sons, Inc. to respond filed.
2018-07-11
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 13, 2018)

Attorneys

DRK Photo
Maurice James HarmonHarmon Seidman Bruss & Kerr. LLC, Petitioner
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Robert PenchinaBallard Spahr LLP, Respondent