L.A. Printex Industries, Inc. v. Aeropostale, Inc.

MEMORANDUM

L.A. Printex Industries, Inc. (“L.A.Printex”) appeals the district court’s summary judgment order in favor of Aeropostale, Inc. and Ms. Bubbles, Inc. (“Defendants”) in L.A. Printex’s action for copyright infringement. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . Because there is a genuine dispute of material fact related to the validity of L.A. Printex’s copyright registration, we reverse and remand.

We review the district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo. Ellison v. Robertson, 357 F.3d 1072, 1075 (9th Cir. 2004). Summary judgment is appropriate if, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a); see also Ellison, 357 F.3d at 1075.

The district court erred when it granted summary judgment for Defendants on the ground that L.A. Printex did not produce sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact on its compliance with the Copyright Act’s registration requirement. See 17 U.S.C. § 411 (a). Concluding that there was “no-evidence” in the record that the designs in Geometric (Group 04)…