Chosun International, Inc. v. Chrisha Creations, Ltd.
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
413 F.3d 324 (2005)
Facts
Chosun International, Inc. (Chosun) (plaintiff) designed and manufactured Halloween costumes, including what it described as plush-sculpture animal costumes. The costume hoods had plush sculptures attached that looked like the heads of toy stuffed animals. Many of the costumes also had elements that looked like hands or claws attached to the cuffs of the costume sleeves. Chosun registered copyrights for the costume designs. Chosun filed a copyright-infringement claim in federal district court against Chrisha Creations, Ltd. (Chrisha) (defendant) for copying Chosun’s costume designs. The district court held that Halloween costumes, as useful articles, could not be copyrighted, and the court dismissed Chosun’s complaint for failing to state a viable claim. The district court noted that physically or conceptually separable design elements might be copyrighted, but the district court did not evaluate whether Chosun’s costumes contained such elements. Subsequently, Chosun filed an appeal.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Calabresi, J.)
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