Justia Copyright Opinion Summaries

The district court erred in granting Defendant’s motion to dismiss, based on an arbitration provision, Plaintiff’s claims that Defendant violated various articles of the Puerto Rico Civil Code and federal copyright and trademark laws.This suit stemmed from a songwriting contest held in Puerto Rico in 2014. As a contestant, Plaintiff agreed to the terms of the contest’s rules, which included an arbitration provision. The provision compelled the submission to arbitration of those claims that “aris[e] in connection with, touch upon or relat[e] to” those rules. The district court granted Defendant’s motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) based on that arbitration provision. The First Circuit reversed, holding that the arbitration provision did not reveal that the parties to it intended for Defendant, a third party, to benefit from it with the requisite clarity. View "Cortes-Ramos v. Martin-Morales" on Justia Law

The district court erred in awarding attorney’s fees to Defendants in this case alleging various claims under Puerto Rico and federal law, including claims under the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 505. Plaintiff sued Sony Corporation of America and other related defendants in connection with a songwriting contest that Sony had co-sponsored. The district court dismissed the claims with prejudice on the grounds that they were subject to mandatory arbitration under an agreement that Plaintiff had signed upon entering the contest and that his claims were subject to dismissal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). The First Circuit affirmed. Thereafter, Defendants moved for attorney’s fees under section 505 of the Copyright Act, which provides for attorney’s fees to the prevailing party. The district court granted the motion and awarded attorney’s fees. The First Circuit reversed, holding that Defendants did not qualify as prevailing parties under section 505. View "Cortes-Ramos v. Sony Corp. of America" on Justia Law

In these consolidated appeals, the First Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision to (1) dismiss Plaintiffs’ claims under Massachusetts law for libel and intentional interference with prospective contractual relations, (2) bar portions of Plaintiffs’ Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A claim from going forward, and (3) award attorney’s fees and costs to Defendant.These consolidated appeals concerned a lawsuit that involved a number of claims arising under federal copyright law, state tort law, and chapter 93A. Defendant operated a website called RipoffReport.com. Plaintiffs were a Massachusetts attorney, a corporate entity that the attorney created, and Christian DuPont. Plaintiffs’ claims pertained to a dispute arising from two reports that DuPont authored and posted on the Ripoff Report and that were highly critical of the attorney. The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s partial grant of Defendant’s motion to dismiss, the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendant, and the district court’s fees award order for the reasons stated above. View "Small Justice LLC v. Xcentric Ventures LLC" on Justia Law