William Lathan v. the City of Whittier, Alaska

512 F. App'x 726

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Decided: March 21, 2013
• Docket: 11-35684
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

William J. Lathan appeals pro se from the district court’s summary judgment in his copyright infringement action. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo. Worth v. Selchow & Righter Co., 827 F.2d 569, 571 (9th Cir.1987). We affirm.

The district court properly granted summary judgment because the Copyright Act’s fair use defense bars Lathan’s action. 17 U.S.C. § 107 (2006); see also Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 508 F.3d 1146, 1163 (9th Cir.2007) (“The [fair use] defense encourages and allows the development of new ideas that build on earlier ones, thus providing a necessary counterbalance to the copyright law’s goal of protecting creators’ work product.”); id. at 1163-68 (explaining four-factor test for fair use analysis).

Because the district court properly made a finding of fair use, we need not review the district court’s finding that the merger doctrine also bars Lathan’s action.

AFFIRMED.

** This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.