PLAYBOY ENTERPRISES, INC., Plaintiff, v. GEORGE FRENA, d/b/a/ TECHS WAREHOUSE BBS SYSTEMS AND CONSULTING, and MARK DYESS, Defendants., 839 F. Supp. 1552

Summary

Defendant operated subscription computer bulletin board service (BBS) that distributed unauthorized copies of plaintiff's copyrighted photographs containing plaintiff's trademarks "PLAYBOY" and "PLAYMATE." After service of process, defendant removed the photographs and began monitoring BBS to prevent subscribers from uploading additional photographs of plaintiff. Plaintiff moved for partial summary judgment on issues of copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and unfair competition. The court granted each of plaintiff's motions. First, defendant's unauthorized display and distribution of plaintiff's copyrighted material was copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C.S. § 501. Detrimental market effects factor coupled with commercial-use presumption negated fair use under 17 U.S.C.S. § 107(1)-(4). Next, under 15 U.S.C.S. § 1114, defendant clearly infringed plaintiff's federally registered trademarks. Finally, defendant's actions of deleting plaintiff's text from photographs, adding ...