Johnson v. The Donation Funnel Project, Inc.

CourtDistrict Court, W.D. North Carolina
DecidedSeptember 25, 2023
Docket1:22-cv-00230
StatusUnknown

This text of Johnson v. The Donation Funnel Project, Inc. (Johnson v. The Donation Funnel Project, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Johnson v. The Donation Funnel Project, Inc., (W.D.N.C. 2023).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA ASHEVILLE DIVISION CIVIL CASE NO. 1:22-cv-00230-MR

MARK A. JOHNSON, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) ORDER AND ENTRY OF vs. ) DEFAULT JUDGMENT ) THE DONATION FUNNEL PROJECT, ) INC., ) ) Defendant. ) )

THIS MATTER is before the Court on Plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment [Doc. 8]. I. PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND On October 26, 2022, Mark A. Johnson (“Plaintiff”) filed a complaint against The Donation Funnel Project, Inc. (“Defendant”), asserting a claim of copyright infringement. [Doc. 1 at 6]. Plaintiff is a photographer “specializing in outdoor and adventure photography” who places his photographic work online for customers to buy and license. [See doc. 8-2 at 1]. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant willfully infringed the copyright of a photograph he created by copying, reproducing, and publicly displaying the photo without Plaintiff’s consent. [Doc. 1 at 1, 5]. Plaintiff further alleges that Defendant continuously displayed his photo on its website for

advertising purposes from March 12, 2020, until at least January 14, 2022, that Plaintiff was unaware of this usage, that Defendant never had permission to use the photo for any purpose, that Plaintiff made several

written demands on Defendant to no avail prior to bringing suit, and that Plaintiff has in no way been compensated by Defendant for its unauthorized usage. [Id. at 2–4]. As a result of this alleged infringement, Plaintiff seeks damages under the federal Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 101,

et seq. [Doc. 1 at 1]. Specifically, Plaintiff seeks a permanent injunction “enjoining Defendant . . . from further infringement of all copyrighted works of the Plaintiff pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 502[,]” actual or statutory damages,

“reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 505[,]” and pre- and post-judgment interest. [Doc. 1 at 6]. Defendant was served on October 31, 2022, and Plaintiff filed an affidavit of service with this Court on December 7, 2022. [Doc. 4 at 1]. On

December 7, 2022, Plaintiff also moved for Entry of Default against Defendant for failing to plead or otherwise defend this action. [Doc. 5]. On December 8, 2022, the Clerk entered a default against Defendant. [Doc.

6]. On April 17, 2023, this Court entered an Order instructing Plaintiff to file an appropriate motion or otherwise take further action with respect to Defendant. [Doc. 7]. On April 28, 2023, Plaintiff filed the present motion at

issue, the Motion for Default Judgment [Doc. 8], seeking a permanent injunction, $50,000 in statutory damages, $419.95 in costs, and $2,625 in attorneys’ fees.1 [Doc. 8-1 at 8–9, 11].

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW “To obtain a default judgment, a party must first seek an entry of default under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(a).” Hayhurst v. Liberty Int'l Underwriters, No. 5:08-cv-5347, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5347, at *2

(N.D.W. Va. Jan. 29, 2009); see Eagle Fire, Inc. v. Eagle Integrated Controls, Inc., No. 3:06-cv-264, 2006 WL 1720681, at *5 (E.D. Va. June 20, 2006) (“The entry of default is a procedural prerequisite to the entry of a

default judgment.”). Rule 55(a) states that the clerk must enter default “[w]hen a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise defend, and that failure is shown by affidavit or otherwise.”

After the clerk enters default, the party may seek a default judgment under Rule 55(b)(1) or (2), depending on the nature of the relief sought.

1 While Plaintiff sought an award of pre- and post-judgment interest in his Complaint, his Motion for Entry of Default Judgment omits any such request. As such, this Court does not consider awarding Plaintiff pre- and post-judgment interest. Rule 55(b) “authorizes the entry of a default judgment when a defendant fails ‘to plead or otherwise defend’ in accordance with the Rules.” United

States v. Moradi, 673 F.2d 725, 727 (4th Cir. 1982). By such a default, a defendant admits the well-pleaded factual allegations in the plaintiff’s complaint. Ryan v. Homecomings Fin. Network, 253 F.3d 778, 780 (4th

Cir. 2001). III. DISCUSSION A. Liability for Copyright Infringement To establish liability for copyright infringement, Plaintiff must prove

two things: (1) his ownership of the copyright at issue; and (2) that Defendant copied the protected work. See Feist Publ’ns, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co., 499 U.S. 340, 361 (1991).

First, as Plaintiff notes, “[a] certificate of registration issued by the Copyright Office is ‘prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate,’ such as ownership.” Universal Furniture Int’l, Inc. v. Collezione Europa USA, Inc, 618 F.3d 417, 428 (4th

Cir. 2010), as amended (Aug. 24, 2010) (citing 17 U.S.C. § 410(c)). Here, Plaintiff asserts in his Complaint that his photo is covered by such a registration, and he attaches a copy of the registration certificate, which

demonstrates ownership. [Doc. 1 at 5; Doc. 1-2]. By virtue of Defendant’s default, this Court takes as true the well-pleaded allegation in Plaintiff’s complaint that he owns a valid copyright in the photograph at issue.

Second, Plaintiff further asserts in his Complaint that “Defendant published, reproduced, and publicly displayed identical copies of the Copyrighted Work by displaying the Copyrighted Work on its website[.]” [Doc. 1 at 3].

This allegation, taken as true because of Defendant’s default, is sufficient to establish that Defendant copied Plaintiff’s photo. Having pled both elements of copyright infringement, Plaintiff has established Defendant’s liability and the Court turns to his requested relief.

B. Statutory Damages The Copyright Act provides that a plaintiff may seek statutory damages not less than $750 or more than $30,000 in an amount the Court

deems just. See 17 U.S.C. § 504(c)(1). District courts hold “wide discretion” in setting the amount of statutory damages under the Copyright Act. 17 U.S.C. § 504(c). Although the Fourth Circuit has not specifically described how the statutory damages should be determined, this Court has

relied upon guidance issued by the Second Circuit regarding factors to be considered, as follows: (1) the infringer’s state of mind; (2) the expenses saved, and profits earned, by the infringer; (3) the revenue lost by the copyright holder; (4) the deterrent effect on the infringer and third parties; (5) the infringer’s cooperation in providing evidence concerning the value of the infringing material; and (6) the conduct and attitude of the parties.

Oppenheimer v. Holt, No. 1:14-cv-000208-MR-DLH, 2015 WL 2062189, at *2 (W.D.N.C. May 4, 2015) (citing Bryant v.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Thomson v. Wooster
114 U.S. 104 (Supreme Court, 1885)
F. W. Woolworth Co. v. Contemporary Arts, Inc.
344 U.S. 228 (Supreme Court, 1952)
Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
509 U.S. 579 (Supreme Court, 1993)
Bryant v. Media Right Productions, Inc.
603 F.3d 135 (Second Circuit, 2010)
United States v. Nasser Moradi
673 F.2d 725 (Fourth Circuit, 1982)
Tattoo Art, Inc. v. Tat International, LLC
794 F. Supp. 2d 634 (E.D. Virginia, 2011)
Securities & Exchange Commission v. Lawbaugh
359 F. Supp. 2d 418 (D. Maryland, 2005)
Tiffany (NJ) Inc. v. Luban
282 F. Supp. 2d 123 (S.D. New York, 2003)
Graduate Management Admission Council v. Raju
267 F. Supp. 2d 505 (E.D. Virginia, 2003)
Ryan v. Homecomings Financial Network
253 F.3d 778 (Fourth Circuit, 2001)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Johnson v. The Donation Funnel Project, Inc., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnson-v-the-donation-funnel-project-inc-ncwd-2023.