Court Opinion

ID: 9489218
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 13:09:13.796445+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:53:24.168329
License: Public Domain

FERNANDEZ, Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
Video Yesteryear’s behavior is far from appealing, and a finding that the late writing was sufficient does help Magnuson. It does not help authors in general. I believe that the decision of this case is controlled by Konigsberg Int'l, Inc. v. Rice, 16 F.3d 355 (9th Cir.1994). I recognize that there are factual differences between this case and that one, but there are always factual differences between cases. In this instance, I do not think that those differences distinguish the principles involved.
Konigsberg is not just about direct conflicts between apparent copyright holders and those who claim to have rights in the copyright. Indeed, it hardly could be. It is also about marketability and protecting third parties who want to deal with the true owner. Under Magnuson’s theory, third parties cannot know who really owns a copyright. They can be dragged through litigation by a person who does not have any apparent ownership rights, but who might eventually be able to obtain some kind of memorandum which may confirm an earlier transfer. For that matter, they might deal with an apparent owner, who later writes something that might be called a memorandum of an earlier agreement. They might be plunged into litigation, and it might turn out that the apparent owner, to his surprise, had no rights at all. None of that advances Congress’s goal of enhancing “predictability and certainty of copyright ownership....” Effects Assocs., Inc. v. Cohen, 908 F.2d 555, 557 (9th Cir.1990), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 1103, 111 S.Ct. 1003, 112 L.Ed.2d 1086 (1991). Instead, it leaves the matter open until a time far in the future — here 17 years in the future. It advances the goals of those who “do lunch, not contracts.” Id. at 556.
I do agree that Congress wanted to protect authors. Perhaps that was Congress’s primary goal. However, the rule that Magnuson has argued for does not do that at all. Indeed, both of our prior cases which touched on this subject were attempts to take away the author’s rights. See Konigs*1433berg, 16 F.3d at 356 (attempt to claim that a letter written three and a half years later was the requisite writing); Valente-Kritzer Video v. Pinckney, 881 F.2d 772, 774-75 (9th Cir.1989), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 1062, 110 S.Ct. 879, 107 L.Ed.2d 962 (1990) (claim that a letter from a lawyer was the requisite writing). The rule that requires a writing— Congress’s rule and Konigsberg’s rule — protects authors. What is the worst thing that can happen if an essentially contemporaneous writing is required? Well, in the absence of that writing the prior owner will be deemed to have the copyright; he will be protected. Not only that, he will not be subjected to claims that some stray writing of his confirms an ancient oral agreement which transferred the copyright to someone else. By the same token, third parties will be protected.
Only in a case as unusual as this one can it seem that there is less protection for the author. And even here, all the Konigsberg rule would provide is that the record owner, Columbia, is still the owner. That is not so terrible. If Magnuson does have absolute control over Columbia, he can exercise that control and obtain a proper contemporaneous transfer. Perhaps that will require corporate revitalization or dissolution. See, e.g., Cal.Rev.Tax Code §§ 23301, 23301.5, 23302 and 23304.1. Even that would not be so bad; it would take the corporate form seriously and would enforce the rules of California law regarding corporations. The corporate form is one upon which much of our economy rests. I see nothing bad about requiring Magnuson to follow state corporation principles as he goes about his business.
In short, the difficulties that uncertainty causes to authors and to third parties supply the reason for Congress’s requirement of a writing and supply a reason for us to embrace Konigsberg rather than finding ways to undermine the statute. Again, in the long run the alternative approach presents a severe danger to authors, who can be subjected to inventive claims that they somehow lost their copyright protections by some oral agreement made years earlier. Therefore, I agree with Konigsberg’s doubts about Eden Toys, Inc. v. Florelee Undergarment Co., Inc., 697 F.2d 27, 36 (2d Cir.1982), and similar cases. Those cases point the way toward destabilization of this area of the law. Konigsberg was right and should be followed. The contrary course could create copyright’s cockatrice.
Thus, I respectfully dissent.