Copyright Developments

In a recent decision, the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court’s finding, as a matter of law and notwithstanding the jury’s verdict, that a defendant’s copyright infringement was not willful, but affirmed the district court’s refusal to award attorneys’ fees to the prevailing plaintiff (without prejudice to the plaintiff seeking reconsideration of this refusal on remand).

Two recent decisions, one hailing from the Ninth Circuit and the other from the Southern District of New York, deal with the protectability of short phrases in musical compositions.