Court Opinion

ID: 9462770
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 22:49:56.490853+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:37:46.612216
License: Public Domain

MESKILL, Circuit Judge (dissenting) (with whom TIMBERS and VAN GRAAF-EILAND, Circuit Judges, concur):
I respectfully dissent.
In the instant case the author has contributed substantially more than a merely trivial variation. “Any ‘distinguishable variation’ of a prior work will constitute sufficient originality to support a copyright if such variation is the product of the author’s independent efforts, and is more than merely trivial.” 1 Nimmer on Copyright § 10.1 at 34.2. In accord with the purposes of the copyright law to promote progress by encouraging individual effort through copyright protection, we should require only minimal variations to find copyrightability. The independent sculpting of the mold for the plastic bank and the aggregated differences in size and conformation of the figurine should satisfy this standard.
The plastic bank in question admittedly is based on a work now in the public domain. This does not render it uncopyrightable since “[i]t is hornbook that a new and original plan or combination of existing materials in the public domain is sufficiently original to come within the copyright protection . .” Alva Studios, Inc. v. Winninger, 177 F.Supp. 265, 267 (S.D.N.Y.1959). The courts have repeatedly emphasized that only a modest level of originality is neces*493sary to be eligible for a copyright. Alfred Bell & Co. v. Catalda Fine Arts, Inc., 191 F.2d 99, 102-103 (2 Cir. 1951). See also, Thomas Wilson & Co. v. Irving J. Dorfman Co., 433 F.2d 409, 411 (2 Cir. 1970) and Dan Kasoff, Inc. v. Novelty Jewelry Co., Inc., 309 F.2d 745, 746 (2 Cir. 1962), where this Court required only a “faint trace of originality” to support a copyright.
Looking first to copyright cases involving sculptures, in Puddu v. Buonamici Statuary, Inc., 450 F.2d 401, 402 (2 Cir. 1971), this Court found that where plaintiff’s employee had sculpted statuettes from scratch, even though there was a “strong family resemblance between the copyrighted and the uncopyrighted models, the differences suffice to satisfy the modest requirement of originality. . . . Originality sufficient for copyright protection exists if the ‘author’ has introduced any element of novelty as contrasted with the material previously known to him.” Similarly, in Blazon, Inc. v. DeLuxe Game Corp., 268 F.Supp. 416, 422 (S.D.N.Y.1965) the court assumed a hobby horse could be copyrightable since plaintiff could have added “unique features to the horse, enlarged it and made it sufficiently dissimilar from defendant’s horse as to render it copyrightable . . . .” See also Royalty Designs, Inc. v. Thrifticheck Service Corp., 204 F.Supp. 702 (S.D.N.Y.1962) (banks in shape of dogs); F. W. Woolworth Co. v. Contemporary Arts, 193 F.2d 162 (1 Cir. 1951) (originality in shape of dog figurine). The fabric cases likewise have found designs copyrightable with only a “very modest grade of originality.” Peter Pan Fabrics, Inc. v. Dan River Mills, Inc., 295 F.Supp. 1366, 1368 (S.D.N.Y.1969). In the latter ease, the embellishment and expansion of purchased designs before being rolled onto fabric constituted the “slight addition” sufficient to qualify as originality. Finally, there are also cases where no changes were required because the process of reproduction itself required great skill. See Alva Studios, Inc. v. Winninger, supra, where originality was found in a detailed scaled reproduction differing only in the treatment of the rear side of the base; see also Millworth Converting Corp. v. Slifka, 276 F.2d 443 (2 Cir. 1960) (creation of a three dimensional effect on a flat fabric required effort and skill).
Turning to the case at bar, Judge Metzner made a factual finding that the plastic bank embodied only trivial variations from the bank in the public domain. There is precedent in this Circuit to support appellate reconsideration of factual findings where the panel has the same record and no part of the decision below turned on credibility. Soptra Fabrics Corp. v. Stafford Knitting Mills, Inc., 490 F.2d 1092, 1093 (2 Cir. 1974) (per curiam). This principle should be applied to the present situation since this Court has had the opportunity to view the exhibits. I make no claim that the process of sculpting involved here is as complex as in Alva Studios (scaled version of Rodin sculpture) or in Alfred Bell (mezzotint engravings of art classics). However, those cases depended solely on difficulty of process to establish originality, since there was no attempt to alter or improve upon the underlying work.
The most obvious differences between the two exhibits in this case are size and medium. While these factors alone may not be sufficient to render a work copyrightable, they surely may be considered along with the other variations. On the other hand, the author’s reasons for making changes should be irrelevant to a determination of whether the differences are trivial. As noted in Alfred Bell, supra, 191 F.2d at 105, even an inadvertent variation can form the basis of a valid copyright. After the fact speculation as to whether Snyder made changes for aesthetic or functional reasons should not be the basis of decision.
The primary variations between the two banks involve height; medium; anatomical proportions of the Uncle Sam figure, including shape and expression of face; design of the clothing (hat, tie, shirt, collar, trousers); detail around the eagle figure on the platform; placement of the umbrella; and the shape and texture of the satchel. Granting Snyder a copyright protecting *494these variations would ensure only that no one could copy his particular version of the bank now in the public domain, i. e., protection from someone using Snyder’s figurine to slavishly copy and make a mold. In Alva Studios, supra, 177 F.Supp. at 267, where the author produced no distinctive variations of his own in reproducing the Rodin sculpture, the court still found that the reproduction was copyrightable and that infringement was possible; although mere resemblance would not justify a finding of infringement where the principal elements of a design were taken from the public domain, evidence of actual copying would support such a finding.
This approach seems quite in accord with the purpose of the copyright statute — to promote progress by encouraging individual effort through copyright protection. The relatively low standard of originality required for copyrightability is derived from this purpose. The objective is to progress first and, if necessary, litigate the question of infringement later. In the meantime, the public culture benefits from progress; the issue of who is entitled to the profits should not induce rigidity and slowness in industries and fields naturally subject to great flux.
Accordingly, I would reverse the district court decision.