Opinion ID: 790804
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Infringement of Exclusive Rights

Text: 15 Among the exclusive rights that the Copyright Act bestows upon copyright owners is the right to distribute copies . . . of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership. 17 U.S.C. § 106(3). Thus, though Island is not alleged to have actually copied Microsoft's products—CCST, or an antecedent entity in the supply chain, did that—Island can still be liable as the distributor of an unauthorized copy. See, e.g., Salton, Inc. v. Philips Domestic Appliances and Personal Care B.V., 391 F.3d 871, 875 (7th Cir.2004); Ortiz-Gonzalez v. Fonovisa, 277 F.3d 59, 62 (1st Cir.2002). 16 Microsoft, moreover, presented the district court with prima facie evidence of copyright infringement by Island. The undisputed testimony of Bankhead and Gouzien demonstrated that Island sold Gouzien an entirely counterfeit copy of Office 2000 and a partially counterfeit copy of Windows 98. Once this prima facie case of infringement through unauthorized distribution was established, Island was required to challenge that case by producing specific evidence sufficient to create a genuine question of material fact for trial. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 585-86, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). 17 Island did not meet that burden. Before the district court, its only attempt to traverse Microsoft's evidence came in the form of a general attack on Bankhead's credibility. Broad, conclusory attacks on the credibility of a witness will not, by themselves, present questions of material fact. See, e.g., Crawford-El v. Britton, 523 U.S. 574, 600, 118 S.Ct. 1584, 140 L.Ed.2d 759 (1998) (noting that if the [defendant] has made a properly supported [summary judgment] motion, the plaintiff may not respond simply with general attacks upon the defendant's credibility, but rather must identify affirmative evidence from which a jury could find that the plaintiff has carried his or her burden) (footnote omitted); McCullough v. Wyandanch Union Free Sch. Dist., 187 F.3d 272, 280 (2d Cir.1999) (emphasizing that appellee cannot defeat summary judgment ... merely by impugning [a witness's] honesty, or by promising in his appellate brief that at trial he will demonstrate how the [witness's testimony] is false). Thus, though we view Bankhead's testimony in the light most favorable to Island, and must resolve any ambiguities in that testimony in Island's favor, see Castle Rock Entm't, Inc., 150 F.3d at 137, we will not, without affirmative evidence warranting an adverse inference, disregard Bankhead's uncontroverted assertions. 18 In addition to Island's protestations regarding Bankhead's general veracity, Island claims, for the first time in this appeal, that the CD-ROMs Island sold Gouzien do not contain any copyrighted materials—that is, that the record does not show that the CD-ROMs contained any software. We have previously held that objections and arguments not advanced during the summary judgment hearing need not be addressed on appeal. See, e.g., Galabya v. New York City Bd. of Educ., 202 F.3d 636, 640 n. 1 (2d Cir.2000) (declining to consider, when reviewing grant of summary judgment, objections and arguments not advanced below); Anchor Fish Corp. v. Torry Harris, Inc., 135 F.3d 856, 858 (2d Cir.1998) (noting that only in exceptional cases will unpreserved arguments be considered). 19 Declining to consider an unpreserved argument of the sort Island now advances is especially appropriate in the case before us. Island had ample opportunity to examine these CD-ROMs prior to the summary judgment hearing. It did not, following its examination of those materials, come forward with any evidence suggesting that the CD-ROMs did not constitute copies (authorized or otherwise) of Microsoft's products. Island had every reason to point out to the district court at the summary judgment hearing that the CD-ROMs contained no copyrighted material, were that the case. Under the circumstances, its attempt to claim now—when the actual CD-ROMs are not available as part of the record on appeal—that it simply forgot to mention that there is no evidence as to their contents is hard to take seriously. 20 Subsequent to Microsoft's proffer of the Bankhead and Gouzien affidavits, Island was required to submit specific and affirmative evidence demonstrating that genuine issues of material fact existed. This, it did not do. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment on Microsoft's copyright infringement claim. 2