Opinion ID: 3048481
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The 2001 Agreement’s Term Limit on Use

Text: [1] The 2001 Agreement authorized K2 to “publish” Jarvis’ images in media including K2’s “brochures, print advertisements . . . posters, and electronically for the web so as to market [its] business.” K2 therefore acted within its rights when it first created the collage ads and published them in the form of magazine inserts. K2 also would not have breached the Agreement had it scanned the ads and placed them online during the time period authorized by the contract. These uses were (or would have been) examples of the “publi[cation]” in 4742 JARVIS v. K2 INC. “posters” and “electronically for the web” contemplated by the Agreement. [2] However, the 2001 Agreement also contained language that explicitly limited the time period during which K2 could use Jarvis’ images. The “Usage” section of the contract specified that K2’s rights were for “2002-2003, ending May 2003.” Analogously, the “Term” section stated that K2’s “photo usage rights apply for the 2002-03 ski season, ending in May 2003.” This language plainly barred any use by K2 of Jarvis’ images after May 2003. The usage term appeared twice in the contract, indicating its significance to the parties and rebutting any claim of inadequate notice. Moreover, the first statement of the term limit came directly after K2’s photo use rights were described, while the second statement was located in a section labeled “Term” and referred specifically to K2’s “photo usage rights.” Given the Agreement’s phrasing and structure, we conclude that the parties agreed that K2 would not use Jarvis’ images in any capacity after May 2003. Cf. 1 Melville B. Nimmer & David Nimmer, Nimmer on Copyright § 3.07[B] (2005) [hereinafter Nimmer on Copyright] (“[I]f consent to use the underlying material is limited in time, then the owner of the derivative work may not exploit the underlying material beyond the time limit.”). K2 notably fails to argue to the contrary, thus apparently conceding that its scanning and online display of the collage ads after May 2003 were not authorized by the Agreement.