Cohen v. United States

94 Fed. Cl. 165, 96 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1535, 2010 U.S. Claims LEXIS 583, 2010 WL 3153962
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedAugust 9, 2010
DocketNo. 07-154 C
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 94 Fed. Cl. 165 (Cohen v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Federal Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cohen v. United States, 94 Fed. Cl. 165, 96 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1535, 2010 U.S. Claims LEXIS 583, 2010 WL 3153962 (uscfc 2010).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

HEWITT, Chief Judge.

Dr. Norman H. Cohen (plaintiff or Dr. Cohen) brought an action for copyright infringement against the United States government, acting through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (United States, FEMA, government or defendant). Civil Action Complaint (Complaint or Compl.), Docket Number (Dkt. No.) 1, ¶¶ 5, 6, 10. Plaintiff contends that the United States infringed his copyright in at least twelve works when it displayed the works on FEMA’s website, making the works available to the public. Id. ¶¶ 5, 10-12. The government moves for partial summary judgment, contending that plaintiff failed to register one of the works1 and that plaintiffs conveyance of certain exclusive rights deprived him of standing to bring suit.

I. Background

Now before the court are United States’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (defendant’s Motion or Def.’s Mot.), Docket Number (Dkt. No.) 37, filed February 25, 2010; Plaintiff’s Response [in] Opposition to United States’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (plaintiffs Response or Pl.’s Resp.), Dkt. No. 42, filed April 5, 2010; and United States’ Reply to Plaintiffs Opposition to its Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and Supplemental Appendix (defendant’s Reply or Def.’s Reply), Dkt. No. 47, filed May 6, 2010. Defendant attached an Appendix (defendant’s Appendix or Def.’s App.) in support of its Motion. Plaintiff attached an Appendix (plaintiffs Appendix or Pl.’s App.) in support of its Response.

The government moves for partial summary judgment on three grounds. Def.’s Mot. 1. First, the government contends that Dr. Cohen did not obtain a certificate of registration from the Copyright Office for the article, “The Principles of Adult Mentoring Scale”2 (The Principles Article). Def.’s [168]*168Mot. 1, 3-4. Second, the government contends that Dr. Cohen does not have standing to sue for copyright infringement because he assigned exclusive rights to Human Resource Development Press, Inc. (HRD Press) and was therefore no longer the copyright owner in four of the works: The Principles Article; The Principles Article, Leader’s Guide; The Manager’s Pocket Guide to Effective Mentoring; and The Mentee’s Guide to Mentoring (collectively, the HRD Press Works). Id. at 1, 5-6, 8. Third, the government contends that plaintiffs right to recovery should be limited to “damages incurred from direct infringement by the government committed between March 9, 2004 and March 15, 2005.” Id. at 1, 10-12. The court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1498(b), which provides that a claim of copyright infringement against the United States shall be brought before the United States Court of Federal Claims (CFC). 28 U.S.C. § 1498(b) (2006). The statute of limitations governing this action is three years. Id. The action is timely because the acts complained of occurred within three years of March 9, 2007, the date the Complaint was filed. See Compl.

A. Copyright Registration in The Principles Article

The United States asserts that Dr. Cohen failed to obtain a certificate of registration from the Copyright Office for The Principles Article and therefore cannot bring a suit of copyright infringement with regard to this work. Def.’s Mot. 3-5. The article is included in a compilation titled “New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education” and is published by Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers (Jos-sey-Bass). Id. at 3-4. Jossey-Bass holds the copyright in the compilation as a collective work. Id. at 4. The parties agree that Jossey-Bass has a valid copyright in the compilation, but the parties disagree as to whether plaintiff has a registered copyright in The Principles Article. Id.; Pl.’s Resp. 5. Defendant asserts that plaintiff failed to register The Principles Article and is therefore barred from bringing suit. Def.’s Mot. 4 (citing Def.’s App. A7-A9 (Compilation Registration Certificate), A58-A59 (Deposition of Dr. Cohen)).

Plaintiffs position appears to be that a separate registration for The Principles Article is unnecessary because it is part of his doctoral dissertation for which he obtained a certificate of registration from the Copyright Office. See Pl.’s Resp. 4, 11-12. Plaintiff maintains that the Principles Article is included within his dissertation, and that because his dissertation is protected by copyright, the Principles Article is also protected. Id. at 4-5. In support of his position, plaintiff submitted a certificate of registration from the Copyright Office for his doctoral dissertation, “Development and Validation of the Principles of Adult Mentoring Scale for Faculty Mentors in Higher Education.” Pl.’s App. A77-A78 (Dissertation Registration Certificate); nee also Pl.’s App. A775 (Deposition of Dr. Cohen). The dissertation was submitted to the Copyright Office for registration, and the Copyright Office issued a certificate of registration for plaintiffs dissertation with an effective date of October 22, 1993. Pl.’s App. A77-A78 (Dissertation Registration Certificate). During his March 18, 2009 deposition, plaintiff submitted the certificate of registration for his doctoral dissertation as Cohen-Exhibib-15. Pl.’s App. A609, A775 (Deposition of Dr. Cohen). Neither party has submitted a copy of plaintiffs dissertation or a copy of the article in question. See Def.’s App. passim; Pl.’s Resp. ii (listing the table of contents for plain tiff’s appendix); Pl.’s App. passim.

B. Copyright Ownership in the HRD Press Works

The government asserts that plaintiff lacks standing to sue for infringement because he is not the copyright owner of the HRD Press Works. Def.’s Mot. 1, 5-6. In particular, the government contends that, because Dr. Cohen assigned exclusive rights to publish and market the works to HRD Press, Dr. Cohen no longer has standing to bring a claim of copyright infringement. Id. at 7-9. Plaintiff signed publishing contracts with HRD Press for each of the HRD Press Works. Pl.’s App. A101-A113 (HRD Press [169]*169Contracts); see also Def.’s App. A13-A18 (HRD Press Contracts). The relevant terms of the contract for each of the four HRD Press Works are identical: plaintiff conveys “the exclusive right to publish and market the Work” to HRD Press, e.g., PL’s App. A101, ¶ 1, A105 ¶ 1 (HRD Press Contracts), in exchange for royalty payments, e.g., PL’s Ap. A102, ¶ 7, A106 ¶7 (HRD Press Contracts). The government asserts that, because the exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute and display the works were conveyed to HRD Press, only HRD Press has standing to sue for infringement of these rights. Def’s Mot. 9-10.

Plaintiff asserts that defendant has conflated legal ownership of a copyright with beneficial ownership of a copyright. PL’s Resp. 14 n. 10. Plaintiff asserts that he is the beneficial owner of the copyright because he receives royalty payments from HRD Press. Id. at 1, 5; see, e.g., Pl’s App. A102, ¶ 7, A106 ¶ 7 (HRD Press Contracts) (stating that plaintiff will receive royalty payments from HRD Press for the HRD Press Works). Plaintiff contends that he has standing to sue for infringement as a beneficial owner. PL’s Resp. 14, 17.

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94 Fed. Cl. 165, 96 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1535, 2010 U.S. Claims LEXIS 583, 2010 WL 3153962, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cohen-v-united-states-uscfc-2010.