Copyright Co-Owner Not Indispensable Party in Lawsuit Over YouTube Video
"Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" is one of the most popular holiday songs around and is played on radio stations across the country every Christmas season. It is also now the subject of contentious copyright litigation after a federal judge ruled recently that litigation over an allegedly unauthorized YouTube video containing audio of the song can continue despite the absence of a co-owner of the copyright.
Elmo Shropshire owns the copyright to the song along with Patsy Trigg d/b/a Kris Publishing. The copyright was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office on December 27, 1979. The defendant posted a video on YouTube--which has since been removed due to the pending litigation--which combined Christmas-related pictures with audio of a Canadian musical group, "The Irish Rovers," singing the Grandma song. Shropshire contacted the poster and requested that he either pay the licensing fee or immediately remove the video. The poster refused.
Shropshire filed a copyright infringement suit in federal court, but his first (amended) complaint was dismissed because, among other reasons, Shropshire did not name Trigg or Kris Publishing in the lawsuit. The court gave him permission to amend, however, and the second time around, Shropshire named Kris Publishing as a defendant, but Kris Published settled out and was promptly dismissed. The defendant then filed a motion to dismiss, claiming that Patsy Trigg d/b/a Kris Publishing was a
necessary and indispensable party and thus the suit could not go forward without her. The Court disagreed.
In order to determine whether a party is "necessary" to the case under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19, the court held, courts must follow a three-pronged analysis. "First, the Court must determine whether an absent nonparty should be 'required to be joined if feasible' under Rule 19(a). . . .The Court 'must determine whether the absent party has a legally protected interest in the suit,' and if so, whether 'that interest will be impaired or impeded by the suit.'" Next, the Court has to make a determination about the feasibility of joining the absent party. The third and final step occurs only if joining the party is not feasible. In that case, the court must determine "whether in equity and good conscience, the action should proceed among the existing parties or should be dismissed."
The court ultimately found that Kris Publishing was not an "indispensable party" and allowed the suit to continue in its absence. The purpose of the joinder rule had already been satisfied by joining it to the case, despite the fact that it was later dismissed upon settlement.
intent to incorporate their terms as part of the employment agreement.
the settlement agreement that she signed in 2009 with the Wieses. In his ruling, the judge pointed out that the agreement extinguishes all claims that Smith might have not only with the Wieses but also with their attorneys. Judge Cacheris ruled further that Smith's financial distress at the time did not amount to legal "
work of authorship consisting of a series of instructions and commands that accompany, and correspond to, each poster of Bikram Yoga." This "original work is recited in a precise manner," according to the complaint, and the sequence of poses received protection from the U.S. Copyright Office on several occasions. Gumucio and the other yoga studio owners, Choudhury said, had infringed upon the copyrights.
Under the
engine results space unfettered by unfair competition stemming from an illegal use of Chanel's trademarks," Chanel's lawyers wrote in the
attempt to mislead readers into mistakenly believing it was the same blog, albeit with a slightly different name and location."
addition, Cassini threatened to sue for infringement if it did not receive "a reasonable offer of damages and a detailed plan for correcting the improper usage of the Cassini mark." Instead of offering to pay damages, Serta filed a declaratory judgment complaint in the Northern District of Illinois seeking a judicial ruling of non-infringement.
information" that the two allegedly took with them to Google, the complaint cites Groupon's deal history with merchants, the way in which Groupon structured such deals, the way in which Groupon identified merchants to participate in the deals, and Groupon's in-house sales Wiki that provided information regarding Groupon's sales practices and strategies.
director or stockholder of any corporation, or in any manner whatsoever, in any city, cities, county or counties in the state(s) in which the Employee works and/or in which the Employee was assigned during the two (2) years next preceding the termination of the Employment Agreement and for a period of two (2) years from and after the date upon which he/she shall cease for any reason whatsoever to be an employee of [Home Paramount]."
the complaint says, "were an integral part of Juan Lewis's custom, business practice, and course of dealing with certain women at Lincoln-Mercury, while fulfilling his role as General Manager at the dealership."
such as the date the plaintiff actually discovers that the alleged negligence occurred or that he has been damaged. Statutes of limitation can expire before a potential plaintiff even learns of the grounds for a lawsuit.






