Michael Grecco Prods., Inc. v. Alamy, Inc.

372 F. Supp. 3d 131
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedMarch 12, 2019
Docket18-CV-3260 (PKC) (SMG)
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 372 F. Supp. 3d 131 (Michael Grecco Prods., Inc. v. Alamy, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Michael Grecco Prods., Inc. v. Alamy, Inc., 372 F. Supp. 3d 131 (E.D.N.Y. 2019).

Opinion

Pamela K. Chen, United States District Judge

On June 4, 2018, Plaintiff Michael Grecco Productions, Inc. ("Plaintiff" or "Grecco Productions") commenced this action for copyright infringement and violations of Section 1202(a) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") with respect to 27 copyrighted photographic images ("the Copyrighted Works"). (Complaint ("Compl."), Dkt. 1.) On September 27, 2018, Defendant Alamy, Inc. ("Defendant" or "Alamy") filed a motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim, arguing, inter alia , that Alamy was an improper defendant in this action and that the complaint failed to plausibly allege any copyright infringement or violation of the DMCA. (Defendant's Motion to Dismiss, Dkt. 25; Defendant's Brief ("Def.'s Br."), Dkt. 26.) For the reasons stated herein, Defendant's motion is denied in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Grecco Productions is a California-based photography studio owned and operated by Michael Grecco, a commercial photographer and film director. (Compl. ¶¶ 5, 7.) In its complaint, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Alamy is a Brooklyn-based company that owns and operates the website, http://www.alamy.com ("the Alamy website"). (Id. ¶ 6, 8.) Through the Alamy website, Defendant allegedly "reproduces, displays, distributes, and purports to offer license rights to photographic images and other content[,] the copyrights in which are owned by others." (Id. ¶ 8.) Defendant receives at least some portion of the fees paid by Alamy website customers to acquire license rights through the website. (Id. )

In 2012, Grecco Productions entered into two agreements, an Exclusive Contributor Agreement and a Non-Exclusive Contributor Agreement (collectively, "the Agreements") with a Florida-based company, RGB Ventures LLC d/b/a Superstock *134("Superstock"). (Id. ¶ 10.) The terms of the Agreements granted Superstock limited licenses to certain materials in Grecco Productions' portfolio, including 1,700 copyrighted images. (Id. ¶¶ 10-11.) Among the materials licensed to Superstock were the 27 Copyrighted Works at issue in this case. (Id. ¶¶ 10-11, 17.)

The Agreements, in turn, authorized Superstock to sublicense Grecco Productions' images through specified agents, called "Third Party Distributors." (Id. ¶ 10.) Alamy is identified in the Agreements as a Third Party Distributor for Superstock. (Id. ) According to Plaintiff, Superstock maintains a distribution agreement with Alamy, whereby Alamy obtains photographic images and other content licensed to Superstock for the purpose of reproducing, promoting, distributing, and sublicensing that content. (Id. ¶ 9.) Through this distribution agreement, Alamy obtained the Copyrighted Works. (Id. ¶ 15.)

On or about December 2, 2013, the Agreements were terminated. (Id. ¶ 13.) The terms of the agreement provided for an 18-month "Survival Term," which allowed Superstock and its Third Party Distributors, including Alamy, to continue exercising licensing rights in Plaintiff's materials for 18 months after the termination date. (Id. ¶ 14.) Through its status as a Third Party Distributor for Superstock, Alamy also retained the right to reproduce, display, distribute, and license the materials subject to the Agreements for this 18-month period. (Id. ¶ 15.) Based on the alleged termination date, the Survival Term would have expired on June 2, 2015. Nevertheless, Plaintiff discovered that Alamy was reproducing, displaying, distributing, and offering to license the Copyrighted Works through the Alamy website as late as 2016. (Id. ¶ 20.)

As its first cause of action, Plaintiff Grecco Productions alleges that Defendant Alamy's continued display and offer to license the Copyrighted Works beyond the Survival Term constitutes infringement of a copyright in violation of 17 U.S.C. § 501. (Id. ¶¶ 20, 27.) In its second cause of action, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant placed visible watermarks, such as "Alamy," "alamy," and "a," on the Copyrighted Works in order to conceal its infringement and induce potential customers to believe that Defendant, not Plaintiff, held exclusive rights in them. (Id. ¶¶ 21-22, 35.) According to Plaintiff, this runs afoul of 17 U.S.C. § 1202(a), which prohibits, inter alia , the provision of false copyright management information ("CMI"). 17 U.S.C. § 1202(a)(1). As a remedy, Plaintiff seeks damages and a permanent injunction against Defendant and its agents further infringing on its rights in the Copyrighted Works. (Id. ¶¶ (a)-(k).)

STANDARD OF REVIEW

To survive a motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), "a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' " Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ). A "claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id. (quoting Twombly , 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ). The "plausibility standard is not akin to a 'probability requirement,' but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully." Id. (citation omitted).

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Bluebook (online)
372 F. Supp. 3d 131, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/michael-grecco-prods-inc-v-alamy-inc-nyed-2019.