SCHIFFER PUBLISHING, LTD., et al., Plaintiffs, v. CHRONICLE BOOKS, LLC, et al., Defendants., 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 416

Summary

The owners' photographers created photographs of fabrics and textiles which were printed into 13 books published and copyrighted by the owners. Defendants published and marketed a book that contained many of the owners' images. The court found that each book as it was registered was a collective work under 17 U.S.C.S. § 504(c). Thus, damages were to be made per book and not per photograph. Because photographs in three of the books were not registered initially, the court allowed damages only for 10 of the owners' 13 books. As to the amount of statutory damages due to the owners under § 504(c)(1), the court concluded that defendants' infringement was not willful, nor was it innocent. Therefore, the owners were not entitled to exceptional damages under § 504(c)(2) but only to damages within the normal range. The court considered the expenses saved and the profits reaped by defendants by not licensing the owners' photographs and also found it necessary to impose an amount that would ...