Platt & Munk Co. v. Playmore, Inc.

218 F. Supp. 267, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5530
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 12, 1962
DocketCiv. 1309
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 218 F. Supp. 267 (Platt & Munk Co. v. Playmore, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Platt & Munk Co. v. Playmore, Inc., 218 F. Supp. 267, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5530 (S.D.N.Y. 1962).

Opinion

*268 COOPER, District Judge.

This motion is a companion motion to that made in Platt & Munk Co., Inc. v. Republic Graphics, Inc., 62 Civ. 1003, D.C., 218 F.Supp. 262. In the case at bar, plaintiff similarly seeks preliminary injunctive relief to restrain defendants from infringing plaintiff’s copyrights by selling goods which bear plaintiff’s trademarks and copyright notices. Motion granted.

It appears that defendants are in possession of sizeable quantities of plaintiff’s copyrighted and trademarked works which they purchased from Republic at an unauthorized sale of such merchandise.

Manifestly, the grant of an exclusive copyright by statute (17 U.S. C.A. § l[a]) confers on plaintiff an exclusive right to vend the copyrighted work and implies the prohibition of unauthorized sales. Since, under the present circumstances, there has been no authorized first sale or transfer of title by the copyright proprietor, infringement proceedings may properly be had against defendants for interference with plaintiff’s exclusive right to vend the copyrighted works. See F. W. Woolworth Co. v. Contemporary Arts, Inc., 344 U.S. 228, 229, 73 S.Ct. 222, 97, L.Ed. 276 (1952); Platt & Munk v. Republic Graphics, Inc., 62 Civ. 1003, 218 F.Supp. 262 (S.D.N.Y.1962). Nor is a showing of intent to “infringe” essential here. American Code Co. v. Bensinger, 282 F. 829 (2nd Cir., 1922); Peter Pan Fabrics, Inc. v. Acadia Co., 173 F.Supp. 292, 299, 302 (S.D.N.Y.1959); Perkins Marine L. & H. Corp. v. Long Island Marine S. Corp., 185 F.Supp. 353 (E.D.N.Y.1960); Ball, Law of Copyright and Literary Property 441 (1944 ed.).

Plaintiff presents a prima facie case entitling it to preliminary injunctive relief to protect it from further injuries throug'h sales by defendants pending the determination of this action.

In accordance with Rule 52, F.R.Civ.P., 28 U.S.C.A., the Court sets forth the following findings of fact and conclusions of law which constitute the grounds for its granting of plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

FINDINGS OF FACT:

1. Plaintiff is engaged in the business of manufacturing, publishing, distributing and marketing books, children’s educational toys, puzzles, games and similar products.

2. Plaintiff is the sole copyright proprietor and the owner of the trademark and all other rights in the following items of educational activity toys which are sometimes sold separately as the BLACKBOARD BOOK OF NUMBERS and the BLACKBOARD BOOK OF LETTERS, respectively and sometimes sold in combination as the BLACKBOARD LIBRARY:

BLACKBOARD BOOK OF NUMBERS - c Registration No. A402623 — Certificate dated July 13, 1959

BLACKBOARD. BOOK OF LETTERS — c Registration No. A402624 ■ Certificate dated July 13, • 1959

3. Plaintiff is and has been the sole copyright proprietor and the owner of the trademark and §11 other rights in the following items of educational activity toys which are sometimes sold separately as the UNITED STATES MAP

*269 —People and Places and the UNITED STATES MAP — Products and Resources, respectively, and sometimes sold together as the UNITED STATES MAP PUZZLES:

UNITED STATES MAP - c Registration No. K62959 People and Places Certificate dated June 15, 1961

UNITED STATES MAP - c Registration No. K62960 Products and Resources Certificate dated June 15, 1961

4. Prior to June 26, 1961 plaintiff created a toy under the name of I CAN PRINT which is an educational activity toy consisting of 3 sets of alphabet type, a holder, an ink pad, a printed work entitled “I Can Print Fun Book”, an instruction folder and instruction greeting cards and envelopes. Plaintiff is the owner of the trademark and of all other rights in I CAN PRINT and is the sole copyright proprietor of the following components of I CAN PRINT:

Box and Greeting Cards - _c Registration No. KK161011 Certificate dated June 26, 1961

Instruction Folder -]c Registration No. A518568 Certificate dated June 26, 1961

5. Each of the aforesaid items has been advertised in plaintiff’s annual catalogs and has been marketed, sold and distributed with appropriate copyright notices required by the United States Copyright Act. Each of the aforesaid items bears plaintiff’s trademarks.

6. On or about August 25,1960 plaintiff entered into an agreement with Republic Graphics Inc., hereinafter called “Republic” pursuant to which Republic agreed to manufacture 25,000 sets of the UNITED STATES MAP PUZZLE for plaintiff.

7. On or about January 10, 1961 plaintiff and Republic entered into an agreement pursuant to which Republic agreed to manufacture for plaintiff 25,-000 sets of the BLACKBOARD LIBRARY, each set consisting of the BLACKBOARD BOOK OF NUMBERS and the BLACKBOARD BOOK OF LETTERS, plus 15,000 slipcover cases. Thereafter, on or about September 15, 1961, plaintiff ordered from Republic 25,000 more copies each of the BLACKBOARD BOOK OF NUMBERS and BLACKBOARD BOOK OF LETTERS, plus 25,000 of the slipcover cases.

8. On or about January 10,1961 plaintiff and Republic entered into an agreement pursuant to which defendant agreed to manufacture for plaintiff 50,000 I CAN PRINT sets.

9. The agreement between the plaintiff and Republic with respect to delivery of each of the aforesaid items was that Republic would promptly proceed with manufacture so that goods would be ready and on hand by April or May 1961, that Republic would store the completed goods at its expense until called for by plaintiff and that plaintiff would only pay for goods as and when called for' by it and after delivery to it.

10. After defendant commenced delivery of the BLACKBOARD BOOK OF LETTERS and the BLACKBOARD BOOK OF NUMBERS, disputes arose between plaintiff and Republic concerning plaintiff’s claim that quantities of the merchandise were defective.

11. After Republic commenced delivery of I CAN PRINT, other disputes *270 arose between plaintiff and Republic. Plaintiff claimed that the printing set produced by Republic did not meet plaintiff’s standards of marketability because the plastic type and type-face manufactured by Republic did not and could not produce a satisfactory impression on paper and therefore plaintiff would be unable to sell it to its customers who, in purchasing educational activity toys from plaintiff, expected to pay advertised prices for merchandise of a quality which would perform as advertised.

12. Plaintiff claims that Republic’s breaches of warranty caused it to withdraw the I CAN PRINT set from sale in or about November 1961, in order to protect plaintiff’s reputation in the trade and among its customers as a reputable manufacturer, publisher and distributor of educational activity toys.

13. On or about January 19, 1962 Republic attempted to deliver in bulk all of the items it had stored on its premises.

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Bluebook (online)
218 F. Supp. 267, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5530, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/platt-munk-co-v-playmore-inc-nysd-1962.