Swatch Group Management Services Ltd. v. Bloomberg L.P.

808 F. Supp. 2d 634 (2011)

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Swatch Group Management Services Ltd. v. Bloomberg L.P.

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
808 F. Supp. 2d 634 (2011)

  • Written by Liz Nakamura, JD

Facts

Swatch Group Management Services, Ltd. (Swatch) (plaintiff) hosted an audio-only conference call with an invited group of security analysts and several senior Swatch executives. During the call, the Swatch executives answered questions and shared commentary about Swatch’s performance, activities, and opportunities. The conference call was simultaneously recorded. Call participants were notified at the beginning of the call that it was being recorded and that participants were not permitted to record the call. Without Swatch’s consent or knowledge, Bloomberg, L.P. (defendant) tapped into and recorded the conference call. Bloomberg then made a written transcript of the call and released both the transcript and the recorded call to its paid subscribers. Swatch sued Bloomberg for copyright infringement. Between when Swatch commenced the action and when Swatch filed its amended complaint, the United States Copyright Office issued a certificate of registration for Swatch’s authorized recording of the conference call. Bloomberg moved to dismiss, arguing that (1) the conference call was not entitled to copyright protection; and (2) Swatch failed to comply with the pre-fixation notice requirements for simultaneously recorded live transmissions.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Hellerstein, J.)

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