Source: https://www.loeb.com/en/insights/publications/2011/02/united-fabrics-international-inc-v-cj-wear-inc
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 10:29:07+00:00

Document:
United Fabrics International, Inc. v. C&J Wear, Inc.
The Ninth Circuit reverses the district court’s sua sponte dismissal of plaintiff’s copyright infringement claim, explaining that the defendants failed to rebut the presumption of plaintiff’s valid copyright because the defendants did not provide any evidence denying or disputing the facts in the copyright certificate.
United Fabrics International sued defendants C&J Wear, Inc., Lucky Kim International, Inc. and Macy’s, Inc. for infringing its copyright in a collection of fabric designs. According to United, it purchased a fabric design from an Italian design house, Contromoda, through an agent, Sergio Giacomel. United then modified the purchased design and registered it as part of Ethnic Collection X. United alleged that the defendants sold fabric and garments that infringed its copyright in the Ethnic Collection X.
At the summary judgment stage, the district court dismissed the case sua sponte, concluding that United lacked standing to pursue its copyright claims. The district court ruled that United failed to establish an element that is crucial to all copyright infringement actions: ownership of a valid copyright. The district court held that the evidence of the transfer of the source artwork from Contromoda to United was insufficient to establish ownership of the underlying design and, for that reason, dismissed the action. The district court stated that “United has not clearly established the chain of title giving it rights in the source artwork and, in turn, the subject matter that was derived from it. United therefore lacks standing.” The district court also held that United’s copyright registration was invalid because United failed to publish its fabric designs concurrently, a requirement of a published single-work copyright that consists of a collection of works.
United appealed and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded.
Section 410(c) of the Copyright Act provides that a copyright registration is “prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright and the facts stated in the certificate.” According to the court, defendants have the burden of rebutting the facts set forth in the copyright certificate. To rebut the presumption of validity, an infringement defendant “must simply offer some evidence or proof to dispute or deny the plaintiff’s prima facie case of infringement.” Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Seattle Lighting Fixture Co., 345 F.3d 1140 (9th Cir. 2003), quoting Entm’t Research Grp., Inc. v. Genesis Creative Grp., Inc., 122 F.3d 1211 (9th Cir. 1997).
The court held that the defendants had the burden of rebutting the facts set forth in the copyright certificate by providing some evidence or proof. According to the court, the defendants failed to provide any evidence or proof, other than arguing that United failed to prove chain of title. The court held that by failing to point to any evidence indicating that the copyright was invalid, the defendants failed to rebut the presumption. The court stated that the district court’s ruling suffers from the same defect. Furthermore, even if such evidence were contained in the record, the court held that it is not the court’s place to search the record to find it.
The district court also dismissed United’s action because United failed to register its collection of fabric designs in a single copyright. When one registers a collection of works in a single copyright, it can be registered either as a “published” or an “unpublished” collection. 37 C.F.R. § 202.3(b)(4). A necessary element of a published-collection copyright is that the collection is sold, distributed or offered for sale concurrently. Id.; 17 U.S.C. § 101. For an unpublished collection, there is no such requirement. See 37 C.F.R. § 202.3(b)(4)(i)(B).
The court concluded that United registered a valid copyright in an unpublished collection of works because, at this stage, it appears that Ethnic Collection X meets the criteria set forth in § 202.3(b)(4).
The court also rejected the defendants’ argument that United’s copyright is invalid because United failed to list the design as a derivative work. The court held that such errors, in the absence of fraud on the Copyright Office, are not cause for invalidation, and because the defendants did not show fraud on the Copyright Office, their argument on this issue fails.

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