NOT FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

GREG YOUNG PUBLISHING, INC., a 

corporation, 

Plaintiff-Appellant, 

 v. 

ZAZZLE, INC., a California corporation; 

DOES, 1-10, 

Defendants-Appellees.

No. 18-55522 

D.C. No. 

2:16-cv-04587-SVW-KS 

MEMORANDUM*

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Central District of California

Stephen V. Wilson, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted November 6, 2019 

Pasadena, California

Before: MURGUIA and HURWITZ, Circuit Judges, and GUIROLA,** District 

Judge.

Greg Young Publishing, Inc. (“Young”) brought this copyright-infringement

action against Zazzle, Inc. (“Zazzle”) after discovering its copyrighted images for 

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent 

except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.

** The Honorable Louis Guirola, Jr., United States District Judge for the 

Southern District of Mississippi, sitting by designation.

FILED

NOV 20 2019

MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK

U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
2 

sale on items on Zazzle’s website. Before trial, Zazzle conceded infringement as to 

the thirty-five images remaining at issue, contesting only damages and whether 

infringement was willful. The jury awarded Young $460,800 in statutory damages;

in doing so, the jury awarded over $30,000 for five of the works, necessarily finding 

willful infringement as to those works. See 17 U.S.C. § 504(c). The district court 

reduced the award by $109,700, finding insufficient evidence of willful 

infringement. The court also (1) entered, but later vacated, a permanent injunction, 

(2) denied Young’s motion for attorney’s fees, and (3) awarded costs to both parties. 

We have jurisdiction over Young’s appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We affirm in 

part, reverse in part, and remand.

1. Recklessness can constitute willful infringement, and can be established 

by an infringer’s knowing reliance on obviously insufficient oversight mechanisms. 

See Unicolors, Inc. v. Urban Outfitters, Inc., 853 F.3d 980, 992 (9th Cir. 2017);

Friedman v. Live Nation Merch., Inc., 833 F.3d 1180, 1186–87 (9th Cir. 2016). 

Zazzle never deviated from, or improved, its oversight system throughout the twoyear period at issue, despite repeated notice of that policy’s ineffectiveness. Zazzle 

“knew it needed to take special care with respect to [Young’s] images,” Friedman, 

833 F.3d at 1187, but never gave its content-management team a catalogue of those 

images provided by Young. Even after Young provided the catalogue, Zazzle 

continued to sell products bearing each of the works for which the jury found willful 
3 

infringement. Zazzle also relied on a user-certification process it knew produced 

false certifications and took no action to remove a user who had marketed more than 

2,000 infringing products. A reasonable jury could find willfulness on this evidence

and we therefore remand for entry of judgment consistent with the jury verdict. 

2. The district court did not abuse its discretion in vacating the permanent 

injunction. See Ariz. Dream Act Coal. v. Brewer, 855 F.3d 957, 965 (9th Cir. 2017)

(stating standard of review); see also Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. E.E.O.C., 691 F.2d 

438, 441 (9th Cir. 1982) (“The law in this circuit is that errors of law are cognizable 

under Rule 60(b).” (citing Gila River Ranch, Inc. v. United States, 368 F.2d 354, 356 

(9th Cir. 1966))). To obtain injunctive relief, Young was required to demonstrate “a 

likelihood of irreparable harm.” Flexible Lifeline Sys., Inc. v. Precision Lift, Inc., 

654 F.3d 989, 998 (9th Cir. 2011) (per curiam). The district court reasonably found

Young’s assertions of irreparable harm grounded “in platitudes rather than 

evidence.” See Herb Reed Enters., LLC v. Fla. Entm’t Mgmt., Inc., 736 F.3d 1239, 

1250 (9th Cir. 2013).1

1 Young’s motions for judicial notice concerning alleged continued 

infringement are denied. See Bingham v. Holder, 637 F.3d 1040, 1045 n.3 (9th Cir. 

2011) (holding that “[t]he content of particular websites on a specified date . . . is 

not ‘capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to sources whose 

accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned.’”) (quoting Fed. R. Evid. 201 (1974)

(amended Dec. 2011)). On remand, however, the district court is free to consider 

“other relevant events that may have intervened.” Lyng v. Nw. Indian Cemetery 

Protective Ass’n, 485 U.S. 439, 458 (1988). 
4 

3. The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Young’s motion 

for attorney’s fees. See Perfect 10, Inc. v. Giganews, Inc., 847 F.3d 657, 665 (9th 

Cir. 2017) (stating standard of review). Zazzle conceded infringement of the works 

considered by the jury, and Young’s ultimate recovery was only about 16% of the 

damages sought at trial. Zazzle obtained summary judgment on eight works. Zazzle 

also defeated a summary judgment motion on its Digital Millennium Copyright Act 

defense.2

4. The district court did not err in awarding Zazzle costs pursuant to Rule 68. 

Zazzle’s final offer of judgment of $525,000, inclusive of attorney’s fees, is more 

favorable than Young’s net recovery, even after the jury’s willfulness finding is 

reinstated.

3 See United States v. Trident Seafoods Corp., 92 F.3d 855, 859 (9th Cir. 

1996). 

AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED. 

Each party shall bear its own costs.

4

 

2

In light of our reinstatement of the jury award—and Young’s consequent 

increased degree of success on the merits—our decision today is without prejudice 

to Young seeking reconsideration of its fee application on remand.

3

If the district court elects to award fees to Young, it can of course revisit the 

Rule 68 issue in light of Young’s ultimate recovery. 

 

4 Zazzle’s motion to strike portions of Young’s reply brief is denied.