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Cameo Clips

By ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |
April 30, 2009

COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT/JURY INSTRUCTIONS

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, decided that a trial judge's refusal to issue a supplementary jury instruction on when copyright protection begins didn't justify a new infringement trial. Thornton v. J Jargon Co., 8:06-cv-1640-T-27TGW. Plaintiff John Thornton filed suit alleging that the “Take the Age Test” in programs for the theatrical production of Menopause the Musical was an unauthorized copy of his quiz “The Official Baby Boomer Qualifying Exam [BBQE].” A jury found no infringement. During deliberations, the jurors had asked the trial judge: “Is copyright retroactive from date of application? Should it matter?” Thornton then asked that the judge respond that “copyright protection comes into existence the day that it's authored and that registration is merely a formality.”

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