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Desire, LLC v. Manna Textiles, Inc., et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 17-56641 · judgment February 2, 2021


Certiorari denied · October 12, 2021
Pre-decision estimate: 4% cert probability

Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a Ninth Circuit decision below, a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition), and a business petitioner, and down for a business respondent.

Question presented

Section 504(c)(1) of the Copyright Act provides “an award of statutory damages for all infringements involved in the action . . . for which any two or more infringers are liable jointly and severally.” Did the Ninth Circuit err in breaking with its own prior precedent and courts across other circuits in holding that 17 U.S.C. § 504(c)(1) limits a copyright holder to a single statutory damages award against multiple infringers who are not jointly and severally liable with each other but are joined in an action with a common-source defendant who is secondarily liable for their separate infringements?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Scott Alan Burroughs
Doniger / Burroughs APC

For respondent
Samuel Gary Brooks
Call & Jensen, a Professional Corporation

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Amicus briefs
1 cert-stage

Proceedings

  1. Oct 12 2021
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Sep 22 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/8/2021.
  3. Sep 17 2021
    Waiver of right of respondent Manna Textiles, Inc., et al. to respond filed.
  4. Aug 23 2021
    Brief amici curiae of American Society of Media Photographers, Inc., California Society of Entertainment Lawyers, National Press Photographers Association, Graphic Artists Guild, Inc., North American Nature Photography Association, and American Photographic Artists filed.
  5. Aug 16 2021
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 17, 2021)