Opinion ID: 2795783
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Equivalence of State Rights

Text: The Copyright Act gives copyright owners exclusive rights to do and to authorize, among other things, the reproduction of the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords; the preparation of derivative works based upon the copyrighted work; the distribution of copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending; and the display of certain copyrighted work publicly. 17 U.S.C. § 106. As discussed above, the crux of Ray's case is that ESPN re-telecast Ray's filmed performances. Thus, because Ray's state-law rights have been 'infringed by the mere act of reproduction, performance, distribution or display' of his performances, his -6- state-law rights are equivalent to the exclusive rights 'within the general scope of copyright.' Nat'l Car Rental Sys., at 431 (quoting 1 Nimmer on Copyright § 1.01[B][1]); see also Laws, 448 F.3d at 1143 (holding that the Copyright Act preempted a plaintiff's right-of-publicity claim based on the reproduction of a voice recording); Balt. Orioles, 805 F.2d at 677 ([A] right in a work that is conferred by state law is equivalent to the right to perform a telecast of that work if the state-law right is infringed merely by broadcasting the work.).2