CDN v. Kapes
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
197 F.3d 1256 (1999)
- Written by Eric Miller, JD
Facts
Kenneth Kapes (defendant), the operator of a coin business, created the Fair Market Coin Pricer, an online guide to retail prices. Kapes used the coins’ wholesale prices as a baseline to determine the retail prices. The wholesale prices were taken from the Coin Dealer Newsletter, published by CDN, Inc. (plaintiff). CDN sought an injunction against Kapes in federal district court on copyright-infringement grounds. Kapes argued that the wholesale prices were uncopyrightable facts. The court granted summary judgment in favor of CDN and enjoined Kapes from further infringement, holding that the wholesale prices possessed enough originality to merit copyright protection. Kapes appealed. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (O’Scannlain, J.)
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