Opinion ID: 77567
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Initial Reports

Text: 35 We also review a district court's exclusion of expert reports for abuse of discretion. Cook v. Sheriff of Monroe County, Fla., 402 F.3d 1092, 1107 (11th Cir.2005). As the district court observed [t]he Federal Rules of Evidence permit experts to offer their informed opinions on technical matters outside the scope of what is presumed to be a jury's ordinary knowledge. R20-229 at 10 (citing Fed.R.Evid. 702). The court serves as a gatekeeper, charged with screening out experts whose methods are untrustworthy or whose expertise is irrelevant to the issue at hand. See Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharms., Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 590-93, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 2795-97, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993). For expert testimony to be admissible under Rule 702, 36 the proponent of the testimony must show that:(1) the expert is qualified to testify competently regarding matters he intends to address; (2) the methodology by which the expert reaches his conclusions is sufficiently reliable; and (3) the testimony assists the trier of fact, through the application of scientific, technical, or specialized expertise, to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue. 37 Maiz v. Virani, 253 F.3d 641, 665 (11th Cir.2001). 38 There is no dispute that the four experts in question were qualified to testify competently regarding matters they intended to address. Rather, the court excluded the expert reports on the grounds that they were based upon improper methodology and failed to assist the trier of fact. Ideas, as opposed to expression of those ideas, are not protected by copyright law. Herzog v. Castle Rock Entm't, 193 F.3d 1241, 1248 (11th Cir.1999) (per curiam) (well-reasoned district court opinion affirmed and annexed to Eleventh Circuit ruling). Thus, if an expert relies on uncopyrightable ideas rather than on expression of those ideas in analyzing alleged copyright infringement the report is excludable. See Rice v. Fox Broad. Co., 330 F.3d 1170, 1180 (9th Cir. 2003). 39 Similarly, scenes a faire, which include [i]ncidents, characters, or settings that are indispensable or standard in the treatment of a given topic[,] are not copyrightable. Herzog, 193 F.3d at 1248; see also, e.g., Walker v. Time Life Films, Inc., 784 F.2d 44, 50 (2d Cir.) (observing that there is no protection for common elements in police fiction, such as drunks, prostitutes, vermin and derelict cars and foot chases and the morale problems of policemen, not to mention the familiar figure of the Irish cop); Evans v. Wallace Berrie & Co., 681 F.Supp. 813, 817 (S.D.Fla.1988) (Such similarities as using a sand dollar as currency, foods made of seaweed, seahorses for transportation and plates made of oysters or mother of pearl are not protected similarities of expression, but are more accurately characterizations that naturally follow from the common theme of an underwater civilization.). Thus, if an expert relies solely upon scenes a faire or other stock elements not protected by copyright, the report is excludable. Further, lists of similarities are inherently subjective and unreliable, particularly where the lists contain random similarities, and many such similarities could be found in very dissimilar works. Herzog, 193 F.3d at 1257; see also Beal v. Paramount Pictures Corp., 20 F.3d 454, 460 (11th Cir. 1994). 40 As the district court noted in its order, however, a work may be protected by copyright law when its otherwise unprotectable elements are arranged in a unique way. See Rogers v. Koons, 960 F.2d 301, 307 (2d Cir.1992) (observing that the arrangement of puppies in a photograph may constitute a protectable element); Roulo v. Russ Berrie & Co., 886 F.2d 931, 939 (7th Cir.1989) (observing that, although size of greeting cards, color of paper, ink, border designs, general concept of stripes, ellipses and single-side format are not individually protectable, it is the unique combination of these common elements which form the copyrighted material). 8 41 In this case, all four expert reports focus on the concepts and ideas behind the Painting and EPCOT rather than on the expression of those concepts and ideas. Each report also incorporates a list of common elements. As the district court observed with regard to the reports of Colbert, Rydell, and Alexander, although each compares ideas conveyed and similarities in the placement of elements in the Painting and the rendering of EPCOT, each also fails to delve into the expressive aspects of these ideas. R20-229 at 17. The report of Constantino does not even go so far as to describe the placement of most elements in each work, much less compare the expression thereof. Because neither the ideas nor the placement of stock elements are copyright protectable absent a showing that they thereby constituted expression of ideas, the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding all portions of the reports based thereon. 42