Case Date: Feb. 13, 2008
Facts: Recording companies brought action against consumer Brennan alleging copyright infringement due to downloading music and violated the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute copyrighted works. Defendant failed to respond or appear so plaintiffs moved for entry default pursuant to Rule 55(a) which Clerk granted.
Procedural History: Record companies are moving for default judgment.
Issue: Is a default judgment justified in an action brought by record companies when the consumer fails to answer complaint after proper service?
Holding: No. Even if not answered, a meritorious defense still exists for the defendant and companies would not have been prejudiced by denial of default.
Court Reasoning: This decision is rather unusual because once the clerk enters default judgment pursuant to Rule 55(a), the factual allegations of the complaint are ordinarily taken as true. However, Rule 55(b)(2) allows a court to require proof of necessary facts.
The claim problematic to the court revolves around the distribution argument and the “making available†allegation being enough to show infringement. The court states that grounds exist for a valid defense because “without actual distribution of copies … there is no violation of the distribution right.†Other defenses are also available according to the court, including whether the amount of statutory damages measured against the actual monetary damages is excessive and whether the record companies have engaged in anticompetitive behavior constituting copyright misuse. Thus, in light of the defenses available, these factors weigh in favor of Mr. Brennan.
Also, the court goes on to state that simply making such a claim against Brennan based on “information and belief†without facts that would indicate anything more than speculation, the complaint is nothing more than a boilerplate listing of the elements of copyright infringement.
Facts: Recording companies brought action against consumer Brennan alleging copyright infringement due to downloading music and violated the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute copyrighted works. Defendant failed to respond or appear so plaintiffs moved for entry default pursuant to Rule 55(a) which Clerk granted.
Procedural History: Record companies are moving for default judgment.
Issue: Is a default judgment justified in an action brought by record companies when the consumer fails to answer complaint after proper service?
Holding: No. Even if not answered, a meritorious defense still exists for the defendant and companies would not have been prejudiced by denial of default.
Court Reasoning: This decision is rather unusual because once the clerk enters default judgment pursuant to Rule 55(a), the factual allegations of the complaint are ordinarily taken as true. However, Rule 55(b)(2) allows a court to require proof of necessary facts.
The claim problematic to the court revolves around the distribution argument and the “making available†allegation being enough to show infringement. The court states that grounds exist for a valid defense because “without actual distribution of copies … there is no violation of the distribution right.†Other defenses are also available according to the court, including whether the amount of statutory damages measured against the actual monetary damages is excessive and whether the record companies have engaged in anticompetitive behavior constituting copyright misuse. Thus, in light of the defenses available, these factors weigh in favor of Mr. Brennan.
Also, the court goes on to state that simply making such a claim against Brennan based on “information and belief†without facts that would indicate anything more than speculation, the complaint is nothing more than a boilerplate listing of the elements of copyright infringement.