STAR ATHLETICA, L. L. C., PETITIONER v. VARSITY BRANDS, INC., ET AL., 580 U.S. 405

Summary

HOLDINGS: [1]-The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit did not err when it found that graphics that were used by a company that manufactured cheerleading uniforms were copyrightable under 17 U.S.C.S. § 101 because they could be identified separately and were capable of existing independently of uniforms the company manufactured; [2]-Features incorporated into the design of a useful article were eligible under § 101 for copyright protection if they could be perceived as two- or three-dimensional works of art separate from the useful article and qualified as a protectable pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work—either on their own or fixed in some other tangible medium of expression—if they were imagined separately from the useful article into which they were incorporated.