In an October 23, 2013 ruling, Judge Katherine B. Forrest denied defendant Governance Risk Management Compliance, LLC's motion to dismiss plaintiff The Regulatory Fundamentals Group LLC's amended copyright infringement complaint. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant "'had misappropriated, copied, distributed, created derivative works of, and publicly displayed on [the defendant's] website'" the plaintiff's works without permission. The defendant moved to dismiss, contending that the plaintiff's claims sounded in contract law, not copyright.Judge Forrest rejected the defendant's argument, ruling that a "review of the case law indicates that there is support for the proposition that, under certain circumstances, there is a cause of action under copyright law where a party has allegedly exceeded a license agreement so as to infringe upon a licensor's copyrighted works." The Court denied the motion to dismiss, but noted "that a prompt Motion for Summary Judgment by Defendants will either dispose of this case entirely or at least will significantly narrow it."
