Taylor Corporation, Appellee, v. Four Seasons Greetings, LLC, Appellant., 403 F.3d 958

Summary

The competitor argued the district court erred (1) in concluding the manufacturer owned the copyrights in the six card designs; (2) in failing to identify what elements of the manufacturer's cards were original, protectable expression that was copied by the competitor; (3) in failing to find the competitor's cards were independently created; (4) in granting injunctive relief after the manufacturer elected not to accept monetary damages; and (5) in depriving the competitor of its right to a jury in the ownership phase of the trial. Each argument was rejected. The bankruptcy court's order approving an agreement between a debtor and the manufacturer vested the manufacturer with ownership in the copyrights. The district court's finding of substantial similarity was reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard as a district court's determination of substantial similarity was a finding of fact. The record bore support for the district court's findings that the competitor's card designs ...