DRK Photo v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Whether an unequivocal transfer of copyright ownership, together with accrued claims, is effective to give the transferee the statutory right to sue as legal owner of copyright under 17 U.S.C. § 501(b), even when the purpose of the transfer is to facilitate an infringement action;

Whether an assignee of an accrued claim who is not a legal or beneficial owner of copyright has standing to sue for infringement, as the Fifth Circuit ruled in Prather,1 or does not have standing, as the Ninth Circuit ruled in Silvers;2 and

Whether, under 17 U.S.C. § 501(b), the term “beneficial owner”—which the Copyright Act does not define—extends to third parties who have been granted the right to authorize §106 rights and derive income from their exploitation. PARTIES TO THE PROCEEDING AND CORPORATE DISCLOSURE There are no parties to the proceedings other than those listed in the caption. Petitioner DRK Photo (“DRK”) was the defendant and counterclaimant in the district court, and the appellant in the court of appeals. Respondent John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (“Wiley”) was the defendant in the district court and the appellee in the court of appeals. 1 Prather v. Neva Paperbacks, Inc., 410 F.2d 698 (5th Cir. 1969). 2 Silvers v. Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc., 402 F.3d 881 (9th Cir. 2005).