Prepared Food Photos, Inc. v. Shadowbrook Farm LLC

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. New York
DecidedJune 27, 2023
Docket1:22-cv-00704
StatusUnknown

This text of Prepared Food Photos, Inc. v. Shadowbrook Farm LLC (Prepared Food Photos, Inc. v. Shadowbrook Farm LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Prepared Food Photos, Inc. v. Shadowbrook Farm LLC, (N.D.N.Y. 2023).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

PREPARED FOOD PHOTOS, INC. f/k/a ADLIFE MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS CO., INC.,

Plaintiff,

-against- 1:22-CV-00704 (LEK/ATB)

SHADOWBROOK FARM LLC,

Defendant.

MEMORANDUM-DECISION AND ORDER I. INTRODUCTION Plaintiff Prepared Food Photos, Inc. f/k/a Adlife Marketing & Communications Co., Inc. (“Plaintiff”) has brought this action for alleged copyright infringement against defendant Shadowbrook Farm LLC (“Defendant”) on June 3, 2022. Dkt. No. 1 (“Complaint”). After Defendant failed to answer, Plaintiff filed a request for entry of default on August 31, 2022. Dkt. No. 7. The Clerk executed a certificate of default on September 1, 2022. Dkt. No. 8. Presently before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion for default judgment, filed on November 29, 2022. Dkt. No. 14 (“Motion”). For the reasons that follow, Plaintiff’s Motion is granted. II. BACKGROUND Plaintiff is a company that licenses professional photographs for the food industry. Compl. ¶ 6. Plaintiff operates a subscription service whereby subscribers pay a monthly fee of $999.00 to gain access to tens of thousands of food industry-related photographs. Id. ¶¶ 7–8. Subscribers cannot license or purchase individual photographs; instead, subscribers may only gain access to these photographs by paying Plaintiff’s monthly fee. Id. ¶ 9. Plaintiff requires that subscribers commit to a minimum 12-month subscription. Mot. at 2. In other words, a subscriber must pay a minimum of $11,988.00 (12 months of access at $999.00 per month) to use Plaintiff’s service. Id. Once the customer pays the subscription fee, the customer receives a “limited, non- transferable license for use of any photograph by the customer only.” Id. at 3. The license terms make clear, however, that Plaintiff retains its copyright ownership of all images and “that its

customers are not permitted to transfer, assign, or sub-license any of Plaintiff’s photographs to another person/entity.” Id. Defendant is a farm and online store that sells meat and other products. Compl. ¶ 14. According to the Complaint, Defendant is not, and has never been, one of Plaintiff’s customers. Id. at ¶ 17. Defendant has never subscribed to Plaintiff’s service, nor has Defendant paid the $999.00 monthly fee to Plaintiff, nor has Defendant ever contacted Plaintiff to seek permission to use any of Plaintiff’s images. Id. Nevertheless, Defendant published one of Plaintiff’s copyrighted photographs––an image titled “ChuckSteakRawFSHC1403.jpg” (the “Work”)––on Defendant’s website. Id. ¶¶ 11, 16. That photograph was an image of a cut of raw meat that Defendant used to market Defendant’s “Chuck Steak” product. Id. ¶ 16.

Plaintiff states that it discovered Defendant’s unauthorized use of the Work in September 2020. Mot. at 5. Plaintiff sent an infringement notice to Defendant, to which Defendant did not respond. Id. Plaintiff then retained counsel. Id. Counsel sent an infringement notice and follow- up email, and then made “several phone calls in an attempt to negotiate a reasonable license for the use of the Work.” Id. Defendant provided no response to any of these attempted outreaches. Id. At one point, Plaintiff’s counsel was able to speak to an attorney who purported to represent Defendant, but Defendant’s counsel did not respond to any follow-up communications. Id. at 5– 6. The Complaint alleges copyright infringement and seeks: (1) injunctive relief; (2) actual damages, or alternatively, statutory damages; (3) attorney’s fees; and (4) costs of collection. See Compl. Plaintiff’s Motion now moves for: (1) judgment against Defendants on all counts set forth in the Complaint; (2) statutory damages of $23,976.00; (3) legal fees totaling $2,583.25; (4)

costs of $512.00; and (5) a permanent injunction prohibiting Defendants from infringing on Plaintiff’s copyright or reproducing Plaintiff’s works. See Dkt. No. 14-4 (“Proposed Order”). To date, Defendant has not appeared in this action or answered Plaintiff’s claims. See generally Docket. III. LEGAL STANDARD After the clerk has filed an entry of default against a party that has failed to plead or otherwise defend, a court may enter default judgment upon application of the opposing party. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b). Default judgment is an extreme sanction, and decisions on the merits are favored. See Meehan v. Snow, 652 F.2d 274, 277 (2d Cir. 1981). However, default judgment is ordinarily justified when a party fails to respond after having received proper notice. See

Bermudez v. Reid, 733 F.2d 18, 21 (2d Cir. 1984). After an entry of default has been entered, all the well-pleaded allegations in a complaint pertaining to liability are deemed true. See Transatlantic Marine Claims Agency, Inc. v. Ace Shipping Corp., 109 F.3d 105, 108 (2d Cir. 1997) (recognizing that the factual allegations in the complaint, except those relating to damages, are deemed true after default). However, a court cannot take allegations in a complaint regarding damages as true. Credit Lyonnais Sec. (USA), Inc., v. Alcantara, 183 F.3d 151, 154–55 (2d Cir. 1999). After establishing liability, a court must conduct an inquiry to ascertain the amount of damages with reasonable certainty. Transatlantic, 109 F.3d at 111. To determine damages in the context of a default judgment, “the court may conduct such hearings or order such references as it deems necessary and proper.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2). However, “it [is] not necessary for the District Court to hold a hearing, as long as it ensured that there [is] a basis for the damages specified in the default judgment.” Fustok v. ContiCommodity Serv., Inc., 873 F.2d 38, 40 (2d Cir. 1989);

see also Action S.A. v. Marc Rich & Co., Inc., 951 F.2d 504, 508 (2d Cir. 1991); Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 2, Albany, N.Y. Pension Fund v. Ne. King Constr. Co., No. 06-CV- 0806, 2009 WL 1706586, at *1 (N.D.N.Y. June 16, 2009). IV. DISCUSSION To secure a default judgment, Plaintiff must establish grounds both for Defendant’s liability and the remedies Plaintiff seeks. Thus, to succeed on all parts of its motion, Plaintiff must establish: (1) Defendant’s liability for a copyright infringement; (2) Plaintiff’s entitlement to damages; (3) Plaintiff’s entitlement to attorneys’ fees and costs; and (4) Plaintiff’s entitlement to injunctive relief. A. Liability

1. Copyright Infringement “To establish [copyright] infringement, two elements must be proven: (1) ownership of a valid copyright, and (2) copying of constituent elements of the work that are original.” Clanton v. UMG Recordings, Inc., 556 F. Supp. 3d 322, 327 (S.D.N.Y. 2021) (quoting Feist Publ’ns, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co., 499 U.S. 340, 361 (1991)). The first element of copyright infringement––ownership of a valid copyright––can be proven via a certificate of registration, which “constitute[s] prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate.” 17 U.S.C.

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Prepared Food Photos, Inc. v. Shadowbrook Farm LLC, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/prepared-food-photos-inc-v-shadowbrook-farm-llc-nynd-2023.