Cameo Clips

A copyright owner can assign an accrued cause of action for infringement by itself to a third party, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled. Silvers v. Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., 01-56069. Nancey Silvers, who wrote the script for the CBS movie 'The Other Woman' as a work for hire, received an assignment from the TV movie's producers of 'all right, title and interest in and to any claims and causes of action against Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Columbia Tri-Star and any other appropriate persons or entities with respect to the screenplay 'The Other Woman' ' and the motion picture 'Stepmom.” Silvers then sued Sony alleging that the 'Stepmom' was similar to 'The Other Woman.' Sony moved to dismiss, arguing that Silvers lacked standing to file suit. The district court denied the motion. Affirming, the appeals court noted, 'Simply stated, the accrued causes of action may be assigned without transferring any other copyright right to the assignee. ' The all-inclusive language of the assignment precisely and clearly specified what rights Silvers obtained. ' Nothing in the language of [17 U.S.C.] Sec. 501 specifies or suggests that the legal or the beneficial owners are the exclusive plaintiffs in copyright infringement cases.' The appeals court also concluded that there was no risk of Sony being subjected to multiple lawsuits if Silvers were allowed to proceed with her action.

Copyright Infringement/Personal Jurisduction