Wihtol v. Crow
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
309 F.2d 777 (1962)
- Written by Matthew Celestin, JD
Facts
In 1935, Austris A. Wihtol (plaintiff) published and registered a copyright on a hymnal song (the song) he had written. In 1958, Nelson E. Crow (defendant), a music director for a school and church, made a new arrangement (the arrangement) of the song and used the arrangement for school and church performances, including passing out copies to choir members. Crow did not obtain Wihtol’s permission before using the song, but Crow wrote to Wihtol and informed Wihtol that Crow had made the arrangement. Wihtol responded with a letter stating that Crow had violated Wihtol’s copyright. At Wihtol’s request, Crow subsequently sent all copies of the arrangement to Wihtol. Thereafter, Wihtol filed a copyright-infringement suit in district court, seeking injunctive relief to prevent Crow from using the arrangement. The district court held, in part, that because Crow had not caused or intended to cause harm by his use of Wihtol’s copyrighted song, Crow’s use of the song was a fair use and Crow thus did not infringe Wihtol’s copyright. Wihtol appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Sanborn, J.)
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