TMTV Corp. v. Mass Productions, Inc.

Puerto Rican network WKAQ aired a situation comedy (sitcom) titled 20 Pisos de Historia (20 Pisos), and WAPA, a rival network, aired a sitcom titled El Condominio. TMTV Corp. (plaintiff) was the successor-in-interest to the production company for WKAQ’s sitcom, and Mass Productions, Inc. was the production company for WAPA’s sitcom. Creation of 20 Pisos began when Sunshine Logroño, a veteran entertainer, asked Roberto Jiménez and Miguel Morales to write scripts for a comedy segment that would appear in each broadcast of a variety television show that Logroño was slated to cohost with another entertainer. In a session attended by Logroño, Jiménez, and Morales, Jiménez suggested that the comedy segment center on a condominium and its residents. It was then decided that a main focus of the segment would be a character that Logroño had portrayed in a previous television show: Vizquez, described as a gossipy security guard in the condominium lobby. Morales wrote scripts for episodes one and three of 20 Pisos, while Jiménez wrote the script for episode two. Logroño claimed that after he received the scripts from Jiménez and Morales, Logroño made substantial revisions. 20 Pisos debuted as the WKAQ variety-show comedy segment in November 1997 and, due to its success, became a weekly program for almost two years. In December 1999, Logroño left WKAQ for WAPA, where he starred in a new sitcom—El Condominio. This new sitcom retained the same setting and characters as 20 Pisos, though it featured new stories and minor additional characters. In March 2000, TMTV brought a copyright-infringement action against Mass Productions, Inc., Logroño, and other named defendants (collectively, Mass Productions) (defendants) in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. TMTV moved for a summary judgment of copyright infringement, and the district court granted TMTV’s motion. The court observed that Logroño had made only minimal edits to the first three 20 Pisos scripts and that Logroño’s scripts for the remaining episodes were based on the themes and characters from the first three episodes. A jury then rendered a verdict awarding TMTV infringement damages. Mass Productions appealed.