Default judgment granted in copyright case by U.S. District Court,

In a case where the plaintiffs alleged that the defendants infringed on their copyrights, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York granted the plaintiffs' motion for default judgment.

In Greenfund Music, et al. v. Pembrook Pines Elmira, Ltd. et ano, Judge John T. Elfvin granted the plaintiffs' motion for default judgment since the defendants failed to answer the complaint and since there was evidence to support the plaintiffs' claim that the defendants infringed on their copyrights.

Consequently, the court ordered the defendants to pay the plaintiffs statutory damages in the amount of $90,000 and attorney's fees in the amount of $8,236.

Plaintiff's Allegations

The plaintiffs consisted of songwriters, music publishers and members of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). The plaintiffs granted ASCAP a non-exclusive license to authorize public performances of their copyrighted music.

In May 2004, the plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the defendants, Pembrook Pines Elmira, Ltd. and the company's president Robert J. Pfuntner. The plaintiffs alleged Pembrook Pines and Pfuntner willfully infringed on six copyrighted musical compositions by broadcasting public performances of the compositions over WLVY- FM, a radio station owned and operated by Pembrook Pines.

From as early as 1977, WLVY-FM had a license agreement with ASCAP but the license was terminated in April 2003 when the radio station failed to meet its payment obligations under the agreement. However, Pembrook Pines allegedly continued to broadcast the plaintiffs' musical compositions. ASCAP sent letters informing Pembrook Pines and Pfuntner that it had evidence of WLVY-FM broadcasting the copyrighted songs. ASCAP offered to reinstate WLVY-FM's license if Pembrook Pines paid the license fees but Pembrook Pines rejected the offer.

Pursuant to the Copyright Act of 1976, the plaintiffs sought: (1) an injunction permanently prohibiting Pembrook Pines from publicly performing the plaintiffs' copyrighted compositions without first obtaining the required licenses; (2) statutory damages in the amount of $15,000 for each of the six copyrighted songs; and (3) an award of costs and attorney's fees.

In May 2004, a summons and complaint were served on Pembrook Pines and Pfuntner. When they failed to answer the complaint, the plaintiffs obtained an entry of default and in November 2004 they subsequently filed a motion for default judgment.

Court's Discussion, Rule 55

In reviewing the plaintiffs' motion for default judgment, the court referred to Rule 55 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which allows a motion for default judgment to be granted against a party who has failed to plead or defend itself.

In addition, before granting a motion for default judgment, a court must determine whether a plaintiff's factual allegations are sufficient to state a claim for relief on each of the causes of action for which the plaintiff seeks judgment by default, see W.A.W. Van Limburg Stirum v. Whalen, 1993 US Dist. LEXIS 8898, at *8 (NDNY 1993).

After reviewing the facts of the case, the court determined the plaintiffs' motion for default judgment should be granted. Specifically, the court determined that Pembrook Pines and Pfuntner were jointly liable based on affidavits and exhibits which supported the plaintiffs' claim that the radio station infringed on the copyrighted music.

The evidence shows that from Aug. 23, 2002 to May 29, 2003 ASCAP representatives wrote to defendants on numerous occasions and made phone calls and personal visits to defendants in an effort to tell defendants the requirements of the Copyright Act and to convince them to obtain an ASCAP license, explained Judge Elfvin. On the basis of the record, it is clear that defendants have acted willfully and 'recklessly disregarded' their obligations under the Copyright Act.

Consequently, the court granted the plaintiffs' request for a permanent injunction preventing Pembrook Pines and Pfuntner from broadcasting unauthorized public performances of any copyrighted compositions licensed through ASCAP.

The court also found the plaintiffs were entitled to statutory damages in the amount of $15,000 for each of the six songs that were infringed upon. As a result, the plaintiffs were awarded a total of $90,000 in damages.

That sum is almost exactly three times what ASCAP license fees would have been, and, as such is an appropriate statutory damages amount - to wit, that multiple of license fees is high enough to deter others from calculating that it would be cheaper to violate the copyright laws than to obtain an appropriate license and is within the range of statutory damage awards in similar cases, wrote the court.

Lastly, the court determined the plaintiffs were entitled to attorney's fees in the amount of $8,236.73.

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