Opinion ID: 715659
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Feist Two-Pronged Test for Copyright Infringement

Text: 13 At the outset, we review some applicable basic principles. To establish a claim of copyright infringement, Bateman and Fricker must prove (1) ownership of a valid copyright, and (2) copying of constituent elements of the work that are original. Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co., 499 U.S. 340, 361, 111 S.Ct. 1282, 1296, 113 L.Ed.2d 358 (1991); see also BellSouth Advertising & Publishing Corp. v. Donnelley Info. Publishing, Inc., 999 F.2d 1436, 1440 (11th Cir.1993) (en banc), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 114 S.Ct. 943, 127 L.Ed.2d 232 (1994). To satisfy Feist 's first prong, a plaintiff must prove that the work ... is original and that the plaintiff complied with applicable statutory formalities. Lotus Dev. Corp. v. Borland Int'l, Inc., 49 F.3d 807, 813 (1st Cir.1995), aff'd by an equally divided Court, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 804, 133 L.Ed.2d 610 (1996) (citation omitted). In judicial proceedings, a certificate of registration made before or within five years after first publication of the work shall constitute prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate. 17 U.S.C. § 410(c) (1977). 20 Once the plaintiff produces a certificate of copyright, the burden shifts to the defendant to demonstrate why the claim of copyright is invalid. Bibbero Sys., Inc. v. Colwell Sys., Inc., 893 F.2d 1104, 1106 (9th Cir.1990). At this juncture, it is incumbent upon a putative infringer to establish that the work in which copyright is claimed is unprotectable (for lack of originality) or, more specifically, to prove that the portion of the copyrighted work actually taken is unworthy of copyright protection. 21 In the case before us, Bateman has a registration of his claim of copyright in his SBCOS software, and Bateman and Fricker jointly have been issued a copyright registration in the hardware logic diagrams for the SBC2. PAC does not contest the validity of these copyright registrations and thus Feist 's first prong is satisfied. 14 It is Feist 's second prong that is a central focus of this case. To prove actionable copying, the plaintiff must first establish, as a factual matter, that the alleged infringer actually used the copyrighted material to create his own work. Engineering Dynamics, Inc. v. Structural Software, Inc., 26 F.3d 1335, 1340 (5th Cir.1994). Proof of copying may be shown either by direct evidence of the copying or, in the absence of such evidence, [c]opying as a factual matter typically may be inferred from proof of access to the copyrighted work and 'probative similarity.'  Id. (citing Plains Cotton Co-op. Ass'n v. Goodpasture Computer Serv., Inc., 807 F.2d 1256, 1260 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 821, 108 S.Ct. 80, 98 L.Ed.2d 42 (1987)). Factual proof of copying, however, is only an element in satisfying the second prong of Feist. 15 It is at this point that the plaintiff must also respond to any proof advanced by the defendant that the portion of the copyrighted work actually taken does not satisfy the constitutional requirement of originality as set forth in Article I, § 8, cl. 8. See also Feist, 499 U.S. at 345-46, 111 S.Ct. at 1287-88 (noting that [t]he sine qua non of copyright is originality, as well as emphasizing that it is a constitutional requirement). If the plaintiff successfully demonstrates that the portion of the copyrighted work taken satisfies the originality requirement, he must still, depending upon the proof of the defendant and the defenses asserted, surmount two additional hurdles. First, the plaintiff must prove that the copying of copyrighted material was so extensive that it rendered the offending and copyrighted works substantially similar. Lotus, 49 F.3d at 813; see also Engineering Dynamics, 26 F.3d at 1341. Second, he may have to successfully challenge the putative infringer's evidentiary assertion that the use made of the original portion of the copyrighted work is a fair use under 17 U.S.C. § 107, where the putative infringer attempts to carry his burden and demonstrate a right to such use. 22 In this appeal, both the originality/substantial similarity aspect of Feist 's second prong and fair use are at issue, although we note that proof of originality can be the more problematic of the two hurdles to overcome; while there may be evidence of copying, not all copying is legally actionable. See Engineering Dynamics, 26 F.3d at 1341; BellSouth, 999 F.2d at 1444-45. 16 For the reasons discussed, we need not consider Feist 's first prong. The factual copying aspect of Feist 's second prong is not at issue either, because PAC admits that it copied portions of the SBCOS code and the SBC2 logic circuit diagrams during the design and development of the LCCOS and the LCC. Thus, the two matters directly at issue on appeal as to Count I are whether: (1) the copying done by PAC is legally actionable; that is, whether there is substantial similarity between the allegedly offending program and the protectable, original elements of the copyrighted works; and (2) the use of any such original elements qualifies as a fair use under 17 U.S.C. § 107. 23 At the heart of these issues is the parties' dispute over the district court's jury instructions on literal and nonliteral copying, to which we now turn.