Opinion ID: 780231
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: 8 In the District Court, all parties appear to have assumed that federal jurisdiction existed simply because the case involved a dispute as to ownership of rights in copyrighted songs and records. See 28 U.S.C. § 1338 (2000) (federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over actions arising under the Copyright Act). However, as Judge Friendly pointed out, the fact that a case concerns a copyright does not necessarily mean that it is within the jurisdiction of a federal district court. See T.B. Harms Co. v. Eliscu, 339 F.2d 823, 825-28 (2d Cir.1964); see also Bassett v. Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, 204 F.3d 343, 347-56 (2d Cir.2000); Merchant v. Levy, 92 F.3d 51, 55-56 (2d Cir.1996). Specifically, if the case concerns a dispute as to ownership of a copyright, and the issue of ownership turns on the interpretation of a contract, the case presents only a state law issue, and, unless the complaint asserts a remedy expressly granted by the Copyright Act, federal jurisdiction is lacking, in the absence of diversity jurisdiction. T.B. Harms, 339 F.2d at 826 ([T]he federal grant of ... a copyright has not been thought to infuse with any national interest a dispute as to ownership or contractual enforcement turning on the facts or on ordinary principles of contract law.). On the other hand, if interpretation of the Copyright Act is required (or if a remedy available under the Act, such as damages for infringement, is sought), then federal jurisdiction is available. Id. at 828. As this appeal illustrates, the line between contract interpretation and statutory interpretation is not always clear. 9 The uncertainty arises in this case because of the interplay between section 204(a) of the Copyright Act, which provides that a valid assignment of a copyright requires a writing signed by the alleged assignor, and the Bovina/April Agreement, which the Appellants signed. As the Appellants see the case, the issue is whether the Bovina/April Agreement constitutes a writing within the meaning of section 204(a). As the Appellees see the case, the issue is whether the Bovina/April Agreement should be interpreted to convey a 50 percent interest in the Appellants' copyrights. In some sense, both sides have identified an issue that requires decision. The difficulty is that almost every case involving contract interpretation, appropriate for state court determination, could be recharacterized as a case appropriate for a federal court simply by framing the issue to be whether the disputed contract qualified as a writing within the meaning of section 204(a). However, the line drawn in T.B. Harms cannot be obliterated by such verbal gymnastics. The need for interpretation of a contract does not necessarily mean that there is a bona fide issue as to whether the contract is a writing for purposes of section 204(a). In most cases, there will be no doubt that the contract is a section 204(a) writing, and the only substantial issue will be contract interpretation. 10 This case, however, is the rare contract interpretation case that does present a substantial issue as to whether the contract qualifies as a section 204(a) writing. The reason stems from the fact that the Appellants signed the Bovina/April Agreement after it was executed by Bovina. Prior to signing by the Appellants, it would have been clear that the Bovina/April Agreement was not a section 204(a) writing, as far as the Appellants are concerned, because they (the alleged assignors) had not signed it. Once the Appellants signed the addendum and agreed to the terms of the contract, the issue arose as to whether an addendum agreeing to a contract that purports to transfer a copyright owner's rights is a section 204(a) writing. Although this is not an especially difficult issue, it suffices to render this case within federal court jurisdiction.