Columbia Pictures Television v. Krypton Broadcasting of Birmingham, Inc.

C. Elvin Feltner is the owner of Krypton International Corporation, which in turn owns three television stations in the southeast. 1 Columbia Pictures Television licensed several television shows to the three stations, including ‘Who’s the Boss?,” “Silver Spoons,” “Hart to Hart,” and “T.J. Hooker.” After the stations became delinquent in paying royalties, Columbia attempted to terminate the licensing agreements. The stations continued to broadcast the programs, and Columbia filed suit. During the course of the litigation, Columbia dropped all causes of action except its copyright claims against Feltner. The district court found Feltner vicariously and contributorily liable for copyright infringement on the part of the Krypton defendants, granted summary judgment in favor of Columbia on liability, and, after a bench trial, awarded Columbia $8,800,000 in statutory damages and over $750,000 in attorneys fees and costs. In this appeal, Felt-ner and Krypton International 2 challenge several of the district court’s rulings.

1. SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION

Feltner argues that Columbia’s complaint fails to properly plead a claim arising under federal copyright law. Therefore, argues…