Cameo Clips

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided that a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether a finding of infringement constituted a “willful” nondischargeable debt under Sec. 523(a)(6) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. In the Matter of Barboza, 06-56319. A federal jury had found Lucia Munguia Albarran and husband Antonio Barboza “willfully infringed” on several Spanish-language films. When Albarran and Barboza filed for bankruptcy, the bankruptcy judge and the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel ruled the couple couldn't discharge the infringement award assessed against them. The appeals court explained, however: “Appellants asserted in the District Court Action that they did not order the copies but that the infringing videos were ordered by Albarran's brother, Miguel, who made it appear that the videos were ordered by the Appellants. ' Given the possibility that the jury found Appellants liable for willful copyright infringement based on recklessness [in their supervisory role], there was no basis in the record for the Bankruptcy Court to conclude that the jury verdict in the District Court Action established that the Appellants willfully violated the Appellee's copyright for purposes of Sec. 523(a)(6).”