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Righthaven LLC v. Wolf

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

813 F. Supp. 2d 1265 (2011)

Facts

The Denver Post published a photo (the photo) of an airport security agent performing a pat down at an airport. The photo’s copyright was originally held by the Denver Post’s parent company, MediaNews Group, Inc. (Media). Media executed an assignment agreement with Righthaven LLC (plaintiff) that provided Righthaven with all rights necessary to establish Righthaven as the photo’s copyright owner. The agreement allowed Righthaven to sue for copyright infringement and allowed Righthaven to share in the recovery of proceeds from an infringement. However, Media retained an exclusive license to use the photo and expressly prohibited Righthaven from using the photo or receiving royalties for the photo’s use. Pursuant to the assignment agreement, Righthaven sued 57 individuals, including Leland Wolf (defendant), for infringing on the photo’s copyrights. Wolf filed for summary judgment, arguing that Righthaven’s bare right to sue did not grant Righthaven the standing to sue for copyright infringement.

Rule of Law

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Kane, J.)

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A "yes" or "no" answer to the question framed in the issue section;
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