Opinion ID: 814395
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Comparing the Penmen and Jake Images

Text: Mr. Blehm asserts that the district court’s substantial similarity analysis excluded protected expression from the Penmen and focused on differences between the Penmen and Jake images rather than similarities. When his works’ expression is considered and compared to the Jake images for similarities, Mr. Blehm argues, a reasonable jury could determine that Life is Good unlawfully appropriated protectable expression by taking material of substance and value.5 The district court viewed the Penmen as “simple” stick figures and explained that 5 As an alternative basis for its summary judgment ruling, the district court explained that “[i]t is beyond dispute that a poster depicting hundreds of small Penmen characters engaged in various activities is not substantially similar to a tee-shirt with a single stick figure image portrayed on it.” Aplt. Appx. at 1217. Mr. Blehm asserts that the district court erred in first comparing the copyrighted posters as a whole with each individual Jake image on a Life is Good t-shirt. We agree with Mr. Blehm that the district court’s analysis on this point was incorrect. The ordinary observer test asks “whether the accused work is so similar to the plaintiff’s work that an ordinary reasonable person would conclude that the defendant unlawfully appropriated the plaintiff’s . . . expression by taking material of substance and value.” Jacobsen, 287 F.3d at 943 (quotations omitted). A defendant may be liable for infringement for copying pieces of the plaintiff’s copyrighted work if those pieces constitute “a substantial portion of plaintiff’s work.” Id. at 945 (quotations omitted). Under this framework, the proper analysis is to compare the accused Jake images with the Penmen to determine whether Life is Good appropriated Mr. Blehm’s protectable expression by taking material of substance and value. If so, the next question is whether that appropriation constitutes a substantial portion of Mr. Blehm’s copyrighted posters. See id. at 948 (instances of copying from plaintiff’s memoir were numerous enough to preclude Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal). Nevertheless, the district court also compared individual Penmen to individual Jake images, as Mr. Blehm requested, and determined that Life is Good did not appropriate protectable expression. We affirm on this alternative basis. -16- any similarities between them and the Jake images “result[]from common themes and general concepts such as the idea of a person skateboarding, playing [F]risbee, playing a musical instrument, holding a birthday cake, roasting a marshmallow over a campfire, or holding his hand in a peace sign.” Aplt. Appx. at 1219. These themes, the court noted, are unprotected ideas. It further explained that no copyright protection extends to Penmen poses that flow from the described activities, or to anatomical similarities between the Penmen and Jake images. After parsing out these elements, the district court concluded that “the remaining original expression [of the Penmen] that is subject to protection is thin.” Id. It determined that the Penmen and Jake images are different “with respect to color, the orientation of the body, the relation of the body to the head, expression, clothing and other features,” and that any similarities “flow from considerations external to the Plaintiff’s creativity, such as common themes and natural poses.” Id. at 1219-20. The district court was correct that Mr. Blehm has no copyright over the idea of a cartoon figure holding a birthday cake, catching a Frisbee, skateboarding, or engaging in various other everyday activities. Nor can the Jake images infringe on the Penmen because the figures share the idea of using common anatomical features such as arms, legs, faces, and fingers, which are not protectable elements. See Baby Buddies, Inc. v. Toys “R” Us, Inc., 611 F.3d 1308, 1317 (11th Cir. 2010) (no copyright protection over common anatomical features of teddy bear); Goldberger, 365 F.3d at 136 (copyright in Barbie doll cannot “prevent a competitor from making dolls with upturned noses, bow -17- lips, and widely spaced eyes”). Mr. Blehm’s copyright also does not protect Penmen poses that are attributable to an associated activity, such as reclining while taking a bath or lounging in an inner tube. See Aliotti, 831 F.2d at 901 n.1 (no protection in common dinosaur pose of open mouth); Azrak-Hamway Int’l, 724 F.2d at 360 (no protection over figurine’s “traditional fighting pose”). These everyday activities, common anatomical features, and natural poses are ideas that belong to the public domain; Mr. Blehm does not own these elements. See Goldberger, 365 F.3d at 136. Although we do not consider these unprotected elements in our substantial similarity analysis, we acknowledge that Mr. Blehm’s works do contain some protectable expression.6 The Penmen at first glance might be considered simple stick figures, but 6 The district court characterized any remaining expression in Mr. Blehm’s works as “thin.” Aplt. Appx. at 1219. This may be a reference to the Supreme Court’s decision in Feist, in which the Court addressed copyright protection in a telephone directory and explained that “copyright in a factual compilation is thin.” Feist, 499 U.S. at 349. We discussed “thin” protection in TransWestern Publishing Co. v. Multimedia Marketing Associates, Inc., 133 F.3d 773, 776 (10th Cir. 1998), in the context of a similar telephone directory. But unlike the fact-based works in Feist and TransWestern, Mr. Blehm’s works are pictorial. See Jacobsen, 287 F.3d at 944-45 (limiting thin protection to factbased works with little creative effort). “Thin” protection has come up outside the context of fact-based works. The Ninth Circuit distinguishes between works entitled to “broad” protection and those with “thin” protection. See MGA Entm’t, 616 F.3d at 913-14. “If there’s a wide range of expression (for example, there are gazillions of ways to make an aliens-attack movie), then copyright protection is ‘broad’ and a work will infringe if it’s ‘substantially similar’ to the copyrighted work.” Id. But “[i]f there’s only a narrow range of expression (for example, there are only so many ways to paint a red bouncy ball on a blank canvas), then copyright protection is ‘thin’ and a work must be ‘virtually identical’ to infringe.” Id. at 914. Even assuming the distinction between “broad” and “thin” protection is correct, Mr. Blehm’s works would not necessarily fall in the “thin” protection category. There Continued . . . -18- they are more nuanced than a child’s rudimentary doodling. For example, the prototypical Penman has a rounded, half-moon smile that takes up a substantial portion of the face. Mr. Blehm has chosen to omit any other facial features on the Penmen. Each figure is filled in black, except for the white half-moon smile, and each Penman’s head is detached, hovering above the body. Many of the Penmen stand facing the viewer, flashing the half-moon smile. Mr. Blehm also drew the Penmen according to his own rules and guidelines. The figure’s head might be perceived as slightly disproportional to the body.7 Its arms and legs are thin, long, and disproportionate to the torso, which is relatively short. Mr. Blehm also chose to give the Penmen four fingers—each about as thick as their arms and legs— on each hand, as well as feet that are disproportionately long and thick compared with the rest of the body. Thus, each Penman reflects particular stylistic choices Mr. Blehm has made. It is likely that these stylistic choices contributed substantially to the success of his ______________________________________ Cont. are many ways to depict a cartoon figure catching a disc or golfing, just as there are many ways—from Odie to Snoopy—of drawing a cartoon dog. In any event, we do not read the district court’s reference to “thin” protection as requiring Mr. Blehm to show a heightened degree of similarity between the copyrighted and accused images. 7 Mr. Blehm asserts that the Penman head is disproportionately large. See Aplt. Br. at 34. This is arguably correct, but the Penman’s head is plainly not as disproportionate as the typical Jake figure’s head. -19- copyrighted works. See Goldberger, 365 F.3d at 136 (“We can surmise that in the highly competitive, billion-dollar doll industry, getting the doll’s face and expression exactly right is crucial to success.”). Although some may discount Mr. Blehm’s drawings as simple stick figures, we are mindful that each Penman follows a seemingly uniform standard to achieve a unique expression. We also are cognizant that under the law of copyright, “even a modicum of creativity may suffice for a work to be protected.” Universal Athletic Sales Co. v. Salkeld, 511 F.2d 904, 908 (3d Cir. 1975); see Feist, 499 U.S. at 345. Mr. Blehm’s works easily clear that threshold. Having identified protectable expression in Mr. Blehm’s drawings, we must determine whether that expression is substantially similar to the allegedly infringing Life is Good images. Life is Good is not entitled to summary judgment unless its Jake figures are so dissimilar from the protectable elements of the Penmen that no reasonable jury could find for Mr. Blehm on the question of substantial similarity. See Sturdza, 281 F.3d at 1297. To show substantial similarity, Mr. Blehm provided the district court with an exhibit juxtaposing 67 individual Penmen with a corresponding, allegedly infringing Jake image. We have reviewed these images and agree with the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Life is Good. We now address two of Mr. Blehm’s proposed comparisons, which he highlights in his appellate brief, and explain why the Life is Good images are so dissimilar from the protectable elements of Mr. Blehm’s images that no reasonable jury could find in his favor. -20-
The first example in Mr. Blehm’s exhibit juxtaposes a Penman and Jake image standing and displaying the peace sign. Because we must separate unprotected ideas from expression, our analysis does not consider that both drawings share the idea of a cartoon figure making a common hand gesture. But we do consider whether the Jake image is substantially similar to Mr. Blehm’s expression of this idea. Mr. Blehm urges us to find certain similarities between the images. He notes that both have round heads. See Aplt. Br. at 22. But Mr. Blehm has no copyright protection in general human features. Further, the figures’ heads are not similarly round. Jake’s head is more oval and somewhat misshapen, whereas the Penman’s head is circular and uniform. Mr. Blehm suggests that the figures have similar proportions, such as the size of the figures’ heads, arms, legs, and feet compared with their bodies. A close review of the figures, however, yields the opposite conclusion. Jake’s head is very large compared with the body, while the Penman’s head is relatively proportional. The Penman’s arms and legs are long and disproportionate to its truncated torso. Jake, on the other hand, has more proportional limbs compared with his torso. The figures’ feet are distinctly -21- different: the Penman’s are thick, long, and roll-shaped, but Jake’s are shorter and triangular. Nevertheless, there are some similarities between the Penman and Jake. Both have black-line bodies, four fingers, and large half-moon smiles, and their feet are pointed outward. But even these similarities have important differences, or are not protectable expression. For example, Jake’s fingers appear stubbier. The choice to display the figures’ feet outward also naturally flows from the common idea of drawing a two-dimensional stick figure and is thus unprotected. The figures’ smiles thus seem to be the crux of this litigation. The Penman and Jake both face the viewer with disproportionately large half-moon smiles. A smile can be drawn in various ways. Here, they share a crescent shape, but the idea of a crescentshaped smile is unprotected. Rather, the expression of the smiles must be substantially similar and important to the overall work. The Penman’s smile is all white, as is Jake’s. The smiles on both figures take up a large portion of the head. But the Penman’s smile is rounded on the tips, whereas the tips of Jake’s smile are sharper angled. Jake’s smile, by virtue of the size of his head, is much larger compared with his body than is the Penman’s. And although both smiles are white, the Penman’s is set on an all-black head, making it appear different from Jake’s, which is the outline of a smile on a white head with black sunglasses. Indeed, Mr. Blehm’s decision to omit eyes and other facial features on the Penman makes the figure susceptible to an interpretation that the Penman is not smiling at all. -22- One interpretation is that the white space on the head is not a smile, but is the Penman’s face with no features. The black above the half-moon shape can be perceived as hair swooping down over the Penman’s forehead. Thus, the Penman’s lack of facial features make it susceptible to different interpretations.8 The Jake figure is not susceptible to similar confusion. Any similarity between smiles also is insubstantial in light of other differences between the figures. Jake’s head is attached to the body, and his head is white and has black sunglasses. The Penman’s head is detached and is black with no eyes. Jake sports a beret, and his whole figure is displayed on a color background, whereas the Penman has no headwear and is portrayed against a plain white background. The Jake image’s arms are positioned differently from the Penman, with Jake’s left arm curved, rather than sharp and angular. Mr. Blehm also chose a unique feature for the Penman’s peace-sign expression—white space in the figure’s hand—that the Jake image does not share. We conclude that no reasonable juror could determine that the Jake figure is substantially similar to the protected, expressive choices Mr. Blehm used for the Penman figure. 8 Our analysis of this Penman drawing does not imply that all Penmen are susceptible to confusion over the smile. -23-
In another example, a Penman and Jake attempt to catch Frisbees between their legs. The two figures’ poses are similar—suspended in the air with legs outstretched and a hand descending to catch the disc—but we do not consider the pose in our analysis. Such a pose is common to this activity and is not protected expression. Again, the figures have large, half-moon smiles. And unlike the “peace sign” Jake, this Jake image has legs that are disproportionate to a truncated torso. The Penman’s legs also are long with respect to the torso, but not as disproportionate as Jake’s. Jake’s legs are curved, but the Penman’s are straightened. The Jake image’s head differs in the same important ways as in the “peace sign” images. Jake’s arms appear to extend from his head, but the Penman’s arms attach to the top of the torso. Jake’s torso is much thinner (and disproportionately shorter) than the Penman’s; Jake has three fingers on each hand (not four); and the Jake image, unlike the Penman image, incorporates color on the canvas and disc. Jake’s feet are defined—toes and arches are visible—but the Penman’s are not. Although the images share a similar idea of catching a Frisbee between the legs, the protectable expression in the Penman is not substantially similar to the Jake image. -24-
Mr. Blehm highlights 65 other Penmen as having been copied. Attached to this opinion is the “Penmen-Jake Chart” Mr. Blehm submitted to the district court in an effort to demonstrate substantial similarity. We have reviewed these images, and an analysis similar to the discussion above applies. We need not describe their similarities and differences in detail here, other than to note that other Penman-Jake comparisons have even more substantial differences than the “peace sign” and “Frisbee catching” images described above. For example, many of the Jake images wear clothes when the Penmen do not.9 Others are drawn in a more three-dimensional manner than the Penmen.10 Some Jake and Penmen images do not even share the half-moon smile directed at the viewer.11 Many Jake images have substantial use of color.12 In sum, these images are so dissimilar as to protectable expression that the substantial similarity question need not go to a jury.