Milton H. Greene Archives, Inc. v. BPI Communications, Inc.

ORDER ON MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Defendant’s motion for summary judgment on waiver is DENIED. Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment on infringement is DENIED. Defendant’s motion for summary judgment on infringement is GRANTED. Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment on Defendant’s affirmative defenses is MOOT.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff claims to own copyrights in various photographs of Marilyn Monroe. Defendant published a book, Blonde Heat, displaying photographs of Marilyn Monroe. Plaintiff alleges it owns copyrights in seven photographs in Blonde Heat and Defendant infringed its copyrights by publishing the photographs without permission.

Now, Defendant moves for summary judgment on waiver and infringement, and Plaintiff moves for summary judgment on infringement and Defendant’s affirmative defenses.

II. DISCUSSION

Summary judgment is proper if “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c).

A. Motion for Summary Judgment on Waiver

In 2003, Plaintiff settled an earlier copyright infringement suit against Photo-fest, Inc. In the settlement agreement, Defendant argues,…