Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Seattle Lighting Fixture Co.

In this copyright infringement action, Lamps Plus, Inc. (“Lamps Plus”) appeals from the order granting summary judgment in favor of A-Boy Supply Co., Dolan Northwest, LLC, and Patrick S. Dolan (collectively, “A-Boy”). Lamps Plus seeks reversal on the ground that the district court erred in concluding that A-Boy’s Victorian-style table lamp (the “Dolan Lamp”) did not infringe Lamps Plus’s copyright for its Victorian Tiffany table lamp because the Dolan Lamp was not substantially similar. In its cross-appeal, A-Boy contends that the district court erred in failing to hold that Lamps Plus’s copyright was invalid and in not awarding attorney’s fees.

We affirm the order granting summary judgment because we conclude that Lamps Plus’s copyright is invalid. We vacate the order denying A-Boy’s request for attorney’s fees with instructions that the district court reconsider whether A-Boy is entitled to attorney’s fees in light of this court’s determination that A-Boy should have prevailed on the ground that the copyright was invalid and unenforceable.

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Lamps Plus is a manufacturer and retailer of lighting products in several western states. In 1997, Lamps Plus combined a lamp-shade…