United States Seventh Circuit
Schrock v. Learning Curve Int'l, Inc., 08-1296
In plaintiff's copyright infringement action against defendant who had hired him to take photos of the "Thomas & Friends" toy train characters for use in promotions, district court's dismissal of his complaint is reversed where: 1) the photos qualify for the limited derivative-work copyright provided by section 103(b) as plaintiff's artistic and technical choices combine to create a two-dimensional image that is subtly but nonetheless sufficiently his own; and 2) district court erred in concluding that plaintiff needed defendant's permission to copyright the photos, as there is nothing in the Copyright Act requiring the author of a derivative work to obtain permission to copyright his work from the owner of the copyright in the underlying work.
Appellate Information
- Decided 11/05/2009
- Published 11/05/2009
Judges
- SYKES, Circuit Judge., Before FLAUM, WILLIAMS, and SYKES, Circuit Judges.
Court
- United States Seventh Circuit
Counsel
- For Appellant:
- Mark H. Barinholtz (argued), Melinda H. Schramm, Mark H. Barinholtz, P.C., Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellant.
- For Appellees:
- David G. Hanson (argued), Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren, Milwaukee, WI; Matthew T. Furton (argued), Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, LLP, Chicago, IL, for Defendants-Appellees.