Bit Parts

In a ruling of first impression, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California found 17 U.S.C. Sec. 1101(a)(3) of the federal civil anti-bootlegging statute to be unconstitutional. Kiss Catalog v. Passport Int'l Prods., 03-8514. In the suit by members of the rock band Kiss alleging unauthorized distribution of a DVD of a 1976 concert, the district court found the plaintiffs could proceed with their copyright infringement claim because they had pleaded ownership of the footage through a work-for-hire arrangement with concert promoter John Scher, registration of the copyright and alleged infringement by the defendants. The district court then noted that recordings made before Sec. 1101(a)(3)'s effective date of 1994, but distributed after, were covered by the statute. But the court concluded that by creating perpetual protection, the statute violated the limited times element of the copyright clause of the federal constitution. In September 2004, a Manhattan federal district court found 18 U.S.C. 2319A, the federal criminal anti-bootlegging statute, to be unconstitutional partly for the same reason. U.S. v. Martignon, 346 F. Supp. 2d 413 (S.D.N.Y. 2004).

Copyright Infringement/Access