Court Denies Waiver of Plaintiffs' Right to Seek Actual Copyright Damages

In a February 6, 2017 ruling, Judge Richard J. Sullivan rejected the defendant's claim that the plaintiffs waived their right to actual copyright infringement damages by failing to request them in their initial disclosures.  The Court wrote:

Although Plaintiffs “corrected” this disclosure a mere five days later . . . , Defendant argues that this purported correction was “void because Plaintiffs cannot reverse their prior election for statutory damages.” . . . None of the authority cited by Defendant supports a rule so strict that it would bar a plaintiff from recovering actual damages due to an election made in initial disclosures and corrected days later, particularly where Defendant has not articulated any prejudice. Rather, the closest examples cited by Defendant involve elections made much later in litigation. See Marano v. Aaboe, No. 05-cv-9375 (BSJ) (RLE), 2010 WL 6350785, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 20, 2010) (plaintiff “elected to seek statutory damages instead of actual damages in his initial brief” in connection with an inquest on damages, which “came more than one year after a default judgment had been entered and more than six weeks after the conclusion of fact discovery on the issue of damages”), adopted by 2011 WL 1157553 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 28, 2011); Homkow v. Musika Records, Inc., No. 04-cv-3587 (KMW), 2008 WL 508597, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 26, 2008) (plaintiff “clearly elected to pursue statutory damages” by requesting such damages in his amended complaint and repeating that request in a submission made in connection with an inquest on damages after entry of default judgment). The Court sees no legal or logical basis for applying the “gotcha” rule envisioned by Defendant, and thus declines to find that Plaintiffs have “irreversibly” elected statutory damages by referencing such damages in their initial disclosures and quickly correcting that reference.

Judge Sullivan nevertheless ruled that "Plaintiffs’ failure to introduce any evidence of actual damages is a de facto election of statutory damages," and limited the Plaintiffs to recovering statutory damages only if Plaintiffs are able to prove infringement.

Court Recommended Preliminary Injunction and Declaratory Judgment Be Granted, In Part, And Denied Monetary Damages and Attorneys’ Fees Be Denied, For Copyright Infringement Of Documentary Film.

In a March 3, 2014 Report and Recommendation to the Honorable Ronnie Abrams, Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis recommended that declaratory judgment for the plaintiff be granted in part; that the plaintiff’s request for a permanent injunction be granted; and that the plaintiff’s requests for monetary damages and attorneys’ and costs be denied.

Plaintiff Tanya Steele commenced this action against defendants Richard Bell and Josh Milani Gallery, Pty. Ltd. for declaratory judgment, copyright infringement, fraud on the U.S. Copyright Office, breach of contract, and other claims concerning the ownership of the film, Blackfella’s Guide to New York City. Plaintiff sought declaratory and injunctive relief, damages, and attorney's fees and costs, pursuant to the Copyright Act. On May 16, 2013, the Honorable Ronnie Abrams entered default judgment against defendants and referred the case for an inquest on damages.

Plaintiff sought a declaration that she is the "sole author of the Film because she singlehandedly generated the concept for the Film and supervised the Film's creation from start to finish." The Supreme Court has stated that "[t]he sine qua non of copyright is originality." "Original, as the term is used in copyright, means only that the work was independently created by the author (as opposed to copied from other works), and that it possesses at least some minimal degree of creativity." As the plaintiff developed the concept, content, and overall aesthetic for the film, created the title to the film, executed the film, prepared production schedules, shot and reviewed footage, and wrote the script, the court recommended that plaintiff's request for a declaration that she is the sole author of the film be granted.