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Copyright Infringement/Summary Judgment Rulings
The federal district court in Johnson v. Foxx below noted that 'summary judgment in favor of a defendant in a copyright case is a practice that should be used sparingly.' The issue has long been debated, but summary judgment for defendants in copyright infringement isn't uncommon today. The case summaries that follow offer snapshots of recent rulings of this type.
A Slice of Pie Productions LLC v. Wayans Brothers Entertainment, 3:04cv1034 (JBA) (D.Conn. 2007): The plaintiff claimed that its screenplay 'Johnny Bronx' was infringed on by the defendants' movie 'White Chicks.' The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut initially noted that, 'due to potential dispute about which of the Wayans brothers' agents may have received and/or read the [plaintiffs'] screenplay, defendants assume for summary judgment purposes that they had access to the screenplay.' As a result, the court compared the works at issue for substantial similarity.
The court then ruled found that 'most of the similarities evident from a comparison between the Johnny Bronx screenplay and the White Chicks film arise from uncopyrightable elements and concepts, including ideas (which are noncopyrightable) that had been used prior to the creation of either work and scenes a faire.'
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