Opinion ID: 806919
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Copyright Subject Matter

Text: GlobeRanger argues that the subject matter of copyright is more limited than the claims it has brought. It relies in part on the source of copyright subject matter. See 17 U.S.C. § 102(b). That section states that “[i]n no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or 6 Case: 11-10939 Document: 00511960675 Page: 7 Date Filed: 08/17/2012 No. 11-10939 discovery.” Id. GlobeRanger argues that its RFID system is precisely what Section 102(b) is describing, a “process, system, method of operation.” Section 102(b)’s exclusion of subject matter extends even if the excluded subject matter is embodied in a copyrightable work. GlobeRanger further argues that its claims are indistinguishable from claims that the Northern District of Illinois held were excluded subject matter. See Chicago Bd. Options Exch., Inc. v. Int’l Sec. Exch., LLC, 06-CV-6852, 2007 WL 604984 (N.D. Ill. Feb. 23, 2007). In that case, the Chicago Board of Options Exchange sought to use not just the Dow Jones Index, which was within the subject matter of copyright, but the Board also intended to employ the “research and development used to create the Indexes,” which was not within the copyright subject matter. Id. at . GlobeRanger argues that just because part of the defendants’ improper conduct included unauthorized access to its software, not all of their conduct related to copyright subject matter. It argues this is analogous to Chicago Board’s planned use of both the Indexes (within copyright) and R&D (not within copyright). The defendants argue that “copyright protection extends not only to the literal elements of a program, i.e., its source code and object code, but also to its ‘nonliteral’ elements, such as the program architecture, ‘structure, sequence and organization’, operational modules, and computer-user interface.” Eng’g Dynamics, Inc. v. Structural Software, Inc., 26 F.3d 1335, 1341 (5th Cir. 1994), opinion supplemented on denial of reh’g, 46 F.3d 408 (5th Cir. 1995) (footnote omitted). They catalog cases standing for the proposition that a plaintiff may not recast copyrightable work simply as the ideas contained within that work. The defendants quote various parts of GlobeRanger’s petition to support their argument that the allegations only pertain to the defendants copying the ideas and processes contained within GlobeRanger’s iMotion software. They argue 7 Case: 11-10939 Document: 00511960675 Page: 8 Date Filed: 08/17/2012 No. 11-10939 that the RFID system GlobeRanger is discussing is no more than the “structure, sequence, and organization” this court was discussing in Engineering Dynamics. We have noted that “as one moves away from the literal code to more general levels of a program, it becomes more difficult to distinguish between unprotectable ideas, processes, methods or functions, on one hand, and copyrightable expression on the other.” Id. This difficulty has led us to conclude that some nonliteral aspect of computer programs are within the scope of copyright. Id. at 1342. That is not to say, however, that copyright protection sweeps so broadly as to encompass whole structures or systems of which software is only a part. To explain, we explore our precedent in greater depth. In Engineering Dynamics, the plaintiff sought copyright protection of computer manuals and data cards associated with its software. Id. at 1339. Our discussion of the data cards is the more helpful part of the opinion for this case. The data cards provided input formats to use in categorizing data such that a computer program could utilize that data. Id. at 1339-40. The plaintiff alleged copying of its input formats. Id. at 1339. The plaintiff claimed that its copyrightable work was “several dozen input formats taken together . . . because they represent but one of many ways of expressing a mode of computerized structural analysis.” Id. at 1342. We concluded that the nonliteral elements of input formats were copyrightable as expressive and did not fall under Section 102(b)’s “useful article exception.” Id. at 1341-42. We noted at the time that the “[c]ourt decisions are, generously described, in a state of creative ferment concerning the methods by which nonliteral elements of computer programs may be identified and analyzed for copyrightability.” Id. at 1341. The crucial distinguishing fact between Engineering Dynamics and this case is that even at its broadest point Engineering Dynamics is about software. The current case contains plausible allegations that extend beyond software. For example, one part of GlobeRanger’s petiton alleges that “Defendants could 8 Case: 11-10939 Document: 00511960675 Page: 9 Date Filed: 08/17/2012 No. 11-10939 see how GlobeRanger went about actually deploying on site, how it set up its readers, how it tagged its product, how it incorporated business process into the design of the warehouse, and how it had trained sailors.” We use two examples to show how seemingly analogous cases are still limited to specific expressions of computer programs and their nonliteral elements. One example is a data input card discussed in Engineering Dynamics. Data cards were essential in order for the computer program to be able to read the inputs and were protected under the copyright: “functional interfaces that directly teach or guide the user’s independent decisions are more expressive than functional interfaces that lack these qualities.” Id. at 1339. Another example is a case in which we reviewed a copyright infringement claim over alleged copying of the software expression of a specific business model. Kepner-Tregoe, Inc. v. Leadership Software, Inc., 12 F.3d 527, 531 (5th Cir. 1994). There, the plaintiff had licensed a computer program designed to assist in management decisions that contained “eight ‘questions’ or ‘problem attributes’ and five ‘definitions’ or ‘processes.’” Id. The original authors of the program created a modified program, which retained the original questions and definitions, but added four new questions. Id. We concluded the new program was infringing because “[e]ven if each of the eight questions and five processes conveys unprotectable ideas, the specific words, phrases, and sentences selected to convey those ideas are protectable expression.” Id. at 534. When reviewing a modified program, however, we classified as unprotectable both the “basic idea of a management training program” and “the more specific idea of training managers by asking them a series of questions about their decision-making landscape, and then-based on their answers-suggesting a preferred decision-making process.” Id. at 535. Even though the allegations in GlobeRanger’s petition include copying of specific expressions, it has also alleged the copying of its business practices that 9 Case: 11-10939 Document: 00511960675 Page: 10 Date Filed: 08/17/2012 No. 11-10939 are not necessarily limited to specific expressions. GlobeRanger’s allegations plausibly establish copying of more than the types of copyrightable expressions we discussed in Engineering Dynamics and Kepner-Tregoe. The defendants argue that GlobeRanger is merely recasting its copyrightable work as noncopyrightable subject matter. The defendants are correct that district courts must be alert to artful pleading intended to bypass copyright preemption. See Alcatel USA, Inc. v. DGI Techs., Inc., 166 F.3d 772, 786 (5th Cir. 1999). In Alcatel, the plaintiff alleged the defendant had misappropriated the “information” in its copyrighted firmware, software, and manuals. Id. We rejected this argument because “[w]ithout objection, the district court instructed the jury on [the defendant’s] use of these works, and not specific pieces of information contained in them.” Id. GlobeRanger’s petition, although it discusses software, also makes claims not wholly limited to software. They are thus broader than the “works” in Alcatel. We requested at argument that the defendants provide their best support for granting a motion to dismiss in this type of case as opposed to awaiting further factual development of the case. They cite one of our recent unpublished cases as “granting a motion to dismiss state-law claim for conversion of computer software.” See Real Estate Innovations, Inc. v. Hous. Ass’n of Realtors, Inc., 422 F. App’x 344, 350 (5th Cir. 2011). Although their characterization is accurate, in that case the parties did not dispute that the allegations were within the scope of the Copyright Act, which is the factor we are currently resolving. The other cases on which the defendants rely are unhelpful because they were also resolved on the second prong of the copyright preemption inquiry. See, e.g., Briarpatch Ltd., L.P., 373 F.3d at 306. To summarize, GlobeRanger alleges that it implements RFID solutions at client sites. Those solutions include the types of procedures, processes, systems, and methods of operation that are excluded from copyright protection under 10 Case: 11-10939 Document: 00511960675 Page: 11 Date Filed: 08/17/2012 No. 11-10939 Section 102(b). These factual allegations, if proven true, would be outside of the subject matter of the Copyright Act and not preempted.