Morris v. Atchity

2009 WL 463971 (2009)

From our private database of 46,400+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Morris v. Atchity

United States District Court for the Central District of California
2009 WL 463971 (2009)

Facts

Margaret Morris (plaintiff) wrote a book, Jesus Augustus: From Imperial Cult to Christianity, speculating that Jesus Christ and the first emperor of Rome were the same person. Morris and Atchity Entertainment International (Atchity) (defendant) entered an agreement under which Atchity was to act as Morris’s literary manager. Several years later, Atchity, John Reid (defendant), and Sonic Age (defendant) entered an agreement with The Writer’s Lifeline to create a novel, The Ashes of Christ, based on Morris’s book. The agreement, which purported to be made on Morris’s behalf, provided that The Ashes of Christ would be a work for hire and that Morris would be the novel’s sole owner. Work on the novel stopped after Morris became aware of plans to commercially exploit the novel without her involvement. Morris brought a copyright-infringement action in federal district court, asserting that the novel had been specially commissioned as a work for hire on her behalf. Atchity, Reid, and Sonic Age moved to dismiss the claims, in part for failure to state a claim.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Lew, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,400 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,400 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership