Opinion ID: 219099
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Firms' Claims Satisfy the Subject Matter Requirement for Federal Copyright Preemption

Text: At the outset, I note my agreement with the majority's conclusion that the Firms' claims satisfy the subject matter requirement for copyright preemption of state law. See ante at 891-93, 901-03. The written research reports containing the Recommendations are certainly within the type of works protected by §§ 102 and 103 of the Copyright Act. Briarpatch Ltd. v. Phoenix Pictures, Inc., 373 F.3d 296, 305 (2d Cir.2004); see also 17 U.S.C. § 301(a), (b)(1). Moreover, although the Recommendations are uncopyrightable opinions, see 17 U.S.C. § 102(b); Hoehling v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 618 F.2d 972, 978 (2d Cir.1980) (noting that copyright does not protect ideas or interpretations of facts), § 301 preempts claims regarding the uncopyrightable as well as copyrightable elements within the protected reports, NBA, 105 F.3d at 849-50. Thus, while the Firms can invoke copyright law to prevent Fly from copying the original expression of their ideas, and indeed have successfully done so in this case, they cannot avoid preemption by seeking state law protection only for the non-copyrightable Recommendations. This conclusion obtains from Congress's considered choices (1) to withhold copyright protection for ideas but, nevertheless, (2) to preempt that which falls within the subject matter of copyright rather than only what is protected by copyright. See 4 Melville B. Nimmer & David Nimmer, Nimmer on Copyright § 19D.03 [A][2][b], at 19D-28 (2010) (noting Congress's policy decision not to protect ideas with copyright); 5 William F. Patry, Patry on Copyright §§ 18:14-18:15, at 18-49 to 18-53 (2011) (noting that § 301 refers to subject matter of copyright referenced in § 102, which section describes what is and is not copyrightable, rather than only works protected by copyright). The fact that the Recommendations are valuable in part because they are authored by the Firms, which have made a substantial investment in building reputations for producing high quality research, Barclays Capital Inc. v. Theflyonthewall.com, 700 F.Supp.2d 310, 319 (S.D.N.Y.2010), does not change the result. Even if Fly's distribution of Recommendations might be viewed as a misappropriation of the Firms' goodwill, such claims are preempted for the reasons discussed infra at 908-11. See 5 Patry, supra, § 18:39, at 18-129 (noting that claims for misappropriation of goodwill are preempted); see also Marvullo v. Gruner + Jahr AG & Co., No. 98Civ5000, 2001 WL 40772, at  (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 17, 2001) (dismissing claim of misappropriation designed to trade on popularity and goodwill as preempted (internal quotation marks omitted)). To be sure, legal theories other than copyright might protect the Firms' trademarks or prevent confusion regarding the Recommendations' origins. See, e.g., 15 U.S.C. § 1114(1) (imposing liability for use or imitation of registered marks likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception); id. § 1125(a)(1)(A) (imposing liability for use of any false designation of origin, or misleading representations likely to cause confusion ... as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of goods). But the Firms do not allege that Fly passed off its own financial advice as that of the Firms or misrepresented that the Recommendations originated with Fly. Cf. Warner Bros. Inc. v. Am. Broad. Cos., 720 F.2d 231, 247 (2d Cir.1983) (noting non-preemption of unfair competition claims based on passing off). To the extent the Firms seek to protect their Recommendations from dissemination, a subject preempted but not protected by federal copyright law, they must seek relief from Congress rather than the courts.