DP Creations v. Adolly.com

District Court, D. Utah·Decided May 17, 2023·No. 2:22-cv-00230·Unknown

Opinion

THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF UTAH

DP CREATIONS, LLC d/b/a BOUNTIFUL MEMORANDUM DECISION BABY, a Utah limited liability company, AND ORDER

Plaintiff, • GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFF’S v. [57] SECOND MOTION FOR DEFAULT JUDGMENT AND ADOLLY.COM, an unknown Chinese business PERMANENT INJUNCTION entity; SHENZHEN CITY AIDUOLA HUALIANWANG, LTD. d/b/a ADOLLY US, • AMENDING [43] ORDER an unknown Chinese business entity; GRANTING IN PART AND HUIZHOU CITY OTARD GIFTS, LTD. d/b/a DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFF’S OTARDDOLLS, an unknown Chinese business MOTION FOR DEFAULT entity; RUGAO LUOEN TRADING CO., LTD. JUDGMENT AND d/b/a REBORN DOLL GALLERY, an PERMANENT INJUNCTION unknown Chinese business entity; and NANJING TIANZENG GIFTS, LTD. d/b/a Case No. 2:22-cv-00230-DBB NPK, an unknown Chinese business entity, District Judge David Barlow Defendants.

Before the court is Plaintiff DP Creations, LLC doing business as Bountiful Baby’s (“Bountiful Baby”) Second Motion for Default Judgment and Permanent Injunction.1 Bountiful Baby renews its motion for default judgment against Defendants Shenzhen City Aiduola Hualianwang, Ltd., doing business as Adolly US (“AUS”), Huizhou City Otard Gifts doing business as OtardDolls (“OTD”), Rugao Luoen Trading Co., Ltd. doing business as Reborn Doll Gallery (“RDG”), and Nanjing Tianzeng Gifts, Ltd. doing business as NPK (“NPK”)

1 Second Mot. for Default J. & Permanent Inj. (“Second Mot. for Default J.”), ECF No. 57, filed Apr. 13, 2023. (collectively “Defendants”). For the reasons below, the court grants in part and denies in part Bountiful Baby’s second motion for default judgment. BACKGROUND Bountiful Baby is a Utah company that sells kits and supplies to create lifelike infant dolls known as “reborn dolls.”” To develop the unique copyrighted sculptures, Bountiful Baby uses 3D scanners, professional photography equipment, and 3D printers.’ It sells individual sculptures and kits.* Bountiful Baby does not license the copyrighted sculptures at issue here.> P= - Bus « ia

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Exemplary reborn doll created by Bountiful Baby®

2 Compl. 9 3-4, 16, ECF No. 1, filed Mar. 30, 2022. See DP Creations, LLC y. Reborn Baby Mart, No. 2:21-cv- 00574, 2021 WL 5826438, at *1 (D. Utah Dec. 8, 2021) (“Reborn dolls are intended to be indistinguishable from a real baby, and Bountiful Baby’s dolls are particularly known for their uncanny realism.”). 3 Compl. { 2; Decl. Nevin Pratt (“Pratt Decl.”) {{f 4-5, 17, ECF No. 48, filed Mar. 16, 2023. * Pratt Decl. 44] 16-17 (e.g., the Joseph Asleep kit contains a Joseph Asleep Head, Joseph Arms, and Joseph Legs). 5 418. ® Compl. § 4 (citing https://bountifulbaby.com/collections/full-vinyl-kits/products/6076).

Defendants are four foreign businesses that sell reborn dolls.7 Customers can purchase

dolls or kits online and ship them to the United States.8 On March 30, 2022, Bountiful Baby filed its Complaint, asserting that Defendants committed twenty-four counts of copyright infringement and seeking a temporary restraining order (“TRO”).9 The court granted the TRO on April 13, 2022.10 The day before the TRO expired, the court granted Bountiful Baby a preliminary injunction.11 After the Clerk of Court entered a default certificate,12 Bountiful Baby moved for default judgment and a permanent injunction on September 8, 2022.13 The court granted in part and denied in part the motion on November 2, 2022.14 The court granted the motion as to Adolly.com (“ADC”) and denied the motion as to the remaining defendants.15 Bountiful Baby moved for leave to file a second motion for default judgment on December 29, 2022.16 The court granted it leave to do so.17 On April 13,

2023, Bountiful Baby filed its Second Motion for Default Judgment and Permanent Injunction.18 DISCUSSION Bountiful Baby seeks default judgment, a permanent injunction, and attorney’s fees and costs. The court first discusses default judgment.

7 Id. ¶¶ 9–12 (AUS, OTD, RDG, and NPK). 8 Id. ¶¶ 9–12, 53–55. 9 Id. ¶¶ 59–274; see 17 U.S.C. § 106 et seq. 10 ECF No. 11. 11 ECF No. 30. 12 ECF No. 32. 13 ECF No. 33. 14 Order Granting in Part & Denying in Part Mot. for Default J. (“Default J. Order”), ECF No. 43, filed Nov. 2, 2022. 15 Id. at 23. 16 ECF No. 46. 17 ECF No. 56. 18 See Second Mot. for Default J. I. Default Judgment To grant default judgment, the court must ensure that jurisdiction exists and that default judgment is appropriate. “A judgment is void if the court that enters it lacks jurisdiction over either the subject matter of the action or the parties to the action.”19 A. The Court Has Subject Matter Jurisdiction and Can Exercise Personal Jurisdiction Over OTD. “[W]hen entry of a default judgment is sought against a party who has failed to plead or otherwise defend, the district court has an affirmative duty to look into its jurisdiction both over the subject matter and the parties.”20 The court has subject matter jurisdiction because the claims fall under federal copyright law.21 “In reviewing its personal jurisdiction, the court does not assert a personal [jurisdiction] defense of the parties; rather, the court exercises its responsibility to determine that it has the power to enter the default judgment.”22 “The plaintiff has the burden of proving that the court has [personal] jurisdiction.”23 “[A] movant ‘need only make a prima facie showing [of personal jurisdiction] if the motion [for default judgment] is decided only on the basis of the parties’ affidavits and other written materials.’”24 Bountiful Baby contends the court can assert personal jurisdiction over Defendants in two ways. It first argues that AUS and RDG consented to jurisdiction in Utah. Next, it argues that

19 Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. v. Infuze, LLC., No. 1:22-cv-00064, 2022 WL 3139227, at *1 (D. Utah Aug. 5, 2022) (quoting Williams v. Life Sav. & Loan, 802 F.2d 1200, 1203 (10th Cir. 1986)). 20 Williams, 802 F.2d at 1203. 21 See Compl. ¶¶ 59–274; Minden Pictures, Inc. v. Buzznick, LLC, No. 2:22-cv-00369, 2023 WL 2243177, at *3 (D. Utah Feb. 27, 2023). 22 Williams, 802 F.2d at 1203. 23 Compañía de Inversiones Mercantiles, S.A. v. Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua S.A.B. de C.V., 970 F.3d 1269, 1281 (10th Cir. 2020), cert. denied, 141 S. Ct. 2793 (2021) (cleaned up). 24 United States Sec. & Exch. Comm’n v. Hartman Wright Grp., LLC, No. 19-cv-02418, 2022 WL 669758, at *3 (D. Colo. Mar. 7, 2022), R. & R. adopted, No. 19-cv-02418, 2022 WL 860617 (D. Colo. Mar. 23, 2022) (quoting Dennis Garberg & Assocs., Inc. v. Pack-Tech Int’l Corp., 115 F.3d 767, 773 (10th Cir. 1997)). Rule 4(k)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure permits the court to assert personal jurisdiction over OTD and NPK. The court discusses each argument in order. 1. AUS and RDG Did Not Consent to Jurisdiction in Utah.

Bountiful Baby argues AUS and RDG consented to jurisdiction when they submitted counter-notifications to Amazon. Under 17 U.S.C. § 512

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