OddzOn Products, Inc. v. Oman

924 F.2d 346 (1991)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
O
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

OddzOn Products, Inc. v. Oman

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
924 F.2d 346 (1991)

Facts

OddzOn Products, Inc. (plaintiff) filed a claim for the copyright to the KOOSH ball. The KOOSH ball is a patented and trademarked product that consists of many floppy strands that emanate from a core and are arranged to form a sphere. It was originally developed to teach children to play catch. OddzOn sought a copyright to prevent competition from knockoff manufacturers. The Copyright Office (defendant) denied a copyright. The Office wrote that the visual character of the KOOSH ball could not be copyrighted because it was simply a sphere, and wrote that the “tactility” (feel) of the KOOSH ball could not be copyrighted because it was a functional part of the ball. OddzOn appealed to the district court. The district court interpreted the Office’s finding that the KOOSH ball’s visual character could not be copyrighted to mean that there was not sufficient creative work in the ball to merit a copyright, and upheld the finding on that basis. The district court agreed that, because the ball’s feel was a utilitarian aspect, it could not be copyrighted either. OddzOn appealed to the circuit court.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Ginsburg, 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 811,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  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.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 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 811,000 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
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 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

Casebooks

Property

Key Terms