Roy Export Co. Establishment v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc.
672 F.2d 1095 · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 1982
Facts
In 1972, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) commissioned a 13-minute film montage called the "Compilation" from excerpts of Charlie Chaplin's films, which was televised nationally by NBC during the Academy Awards. The plaintiffs, Roy Export Co. and others, held exclusive rights to the Chaplin films and the Compilation, and AMPAS's right to use it was limited to that one-time showing. In 1973, CBS began work on a Chaplin biography but was refused permission by the plaintiffs to use their films, as plaintiffs were producing their own biography, "The Gentleman Tramp." After Chaplin's death in December 1977, CBS obtained a copy of the Compilation from NBC, despite knowing of the plaintiffs' refusals and NBC's limited use assurance. CBS then broadcast a new Chaplin biography incorporating the Compilation, leading to the plaintiffs' lawsuit for statutory and common-law copyright infringement and unfair competition.
Procedural history
After a trial in September and October 1979, a jury found CBS liable for compensatory and punitive damages. CBS's post-trial motions were denied by Judge Morris E. Lasker, who also granted plaintiffs an additional award of statutory damages. This appeal followed the District Court's judgment.
Issue
Does the First Amendment provide a privilege for news reporting that overrides copyright protection? Did the 1972 telecast of the Compilation terminate the plaintiffs' common-law copyright? Is the state-law unfair competition claim, based on misappropriation of the Compilation, preempted by federal copyright law?
Holding
The court affirmed the District Court's judgment, rejecting CBS's First Amendment defense, finding that the plaintiffs' common-law copyright in the Compilation was not terminated, and holding that the unfair competition claim was not preempted by federal copyright law.
Rule
The First Amendment does not provide a privilege in copyright distinct from the fair use doctrine, and such a privilege would not apply where copyrighted material is not essential for news reporting. Under the 1909 Copyright Act, a telecast is generally considered a performance, not a "divesting" publication that would terminate common-law copyright. A compiler of a collective work cannot secure copyright protection for preexisting components without an assignment from the proprietor, and a copyright notice on a collective work does not automatically invest statutory rights in the components or divest common-law rights if the publication is not "divesting." New York unfair competition law is broad and flexible, encompassing "commercial immorality" or misappropriation of another's skill and labor, and such a claim is not preempted by federal copyright law when based on the misappropriation of an unpublished work protected by common-law copyright.
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