High Court: Copyright Cases Must Go To Jury High Court: Copyright Cases Must Go To Jury / Col Tv's $9 Million Win Is Tossed Out
By Brooks Boliek
Wednesday, April 1 1998
Wednesday, April 1 1998
Published on AllBusiness.com
The Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out an $8.8 million judgment won by Sony Corp.'s Columbia Pictures Television Inc. because the award was decided without a jury.
In a unanimous ruling, the court said the Constitution guarantees the right to a jury trial in all types of copyright-infringement lawsuits. The decision bars entertainment companies and other copyright holders from picking a trial by judge over a trial by jury.
"There is overwhelming evidence that the consistent practice at common law was for juries to award damages," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the high court's opinion. "More specifically, this was the consistent practice in copyright cases."
Entertainment companies typically choose to have copyright trials without a jury because they feel that juries have difficulty interpreting copyright law and tend to find big companies less sympathetic than individuals.
In the Columbia case, the court ruled for television station owner C. Elvin Feltner Jr., who refused to pay license fees to Columbia despite broadcasting the studio's shows "Who's the Boss," "Silver Spoons," "Hart to Hart" and "T.J. Hooker." Feltner, who owns TV stations in Florida and Alabama though his Krypton International Inc., argued that Columbia formally revoked the programs' copyright licenses as a negotiating ploy.
A trial judge sided with Columbia and rejected Feltner's request for a jury trial and damages. The $8.8 million was the second-largest copyright infringement award in history, trailing only the $9 million Feltner was ordered to pay in a similar case involving Seagram Co.'s MCA Television Ltd. A San Francisco-based federal appeals court ruled that the constitutional guarantee to a jury trial in lawsuits involving more than $20 did not apply to Columbia's suit.
While the court's ruling was unanimous, Justice Antonin Scalia filed a concurring opinion saying the court did not need to reach the constitutional question and should have interpreted the copyright statute as guaranteeing a jury trial.
A U.S. law gives copyright owners the option of seeking "statutory damages" that fall within a range set by Congress instead of arguing in court over actual damages and lost profits suffered. Trial courts have consistently said litigants can demand a jury trial to determine actual damages, but federal appellate courts have differed on the question. Statutory damages can range from $200-$100,000 for each copyright violation.
Columbia argued that Congress created statutory damages in order to give copyright owners a way to "remedy a wrong" even if they could not pinpoint actual damages. The company said the judge should have discretion to fashion an appropriate judgment in those cases.
In a unanimous ruling, the court said the Constitution guarantees the right to a jury trial in all types of copyright-infringement lawsuits. The decision bars entertainment companies and other copyright holders from picking a trial by judge over a trial by jury.
"There is overwhelming evidence that the consistent practice at common law was for juries to award damages," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the high court's opinion. "More specifically, this was the consistent practice in copyright cases."
Entertainment companies typically choose to have copyright trials without a jury because they feel that juries have difficulty interpreting copyright law and tend to find big companies less sympathetic than individuals.
In the Columbia case, the court ruled for television station owner C. Elvin Feltner Jr., who refused to pay license fees to Columbia despite broadcasting the studio's shows "Who's the Boss," "Silver Spoons," "Hart to Hart" and "T.J. Hooker." Feltner, who owns TV stations in Florida and Alabama though his Krypton International Inc., argued that Columbia formally revoked the programs' copyright licenses as a negotiating ploy.
A trial judge sided with Columbia and rejected Feltner's request for a jury trial and damages. The $8.8 million was the second-largest copyright infringement award in history, trailing only the $9 million Feltner was ordered to pay in a similar case involving Seagram Co.'s MCA Television Ltd. A San Francisco-based federal appeals court ruled that the constitutional guarantee to a jury trial in lawsuits involving more than $20 did not apply to Columbia's suit.
While the court's ruling was unanimous, Justice Antonin Scalia filed a concurring opinion saying the court did not need to reach the constitutional question and should have interpreted the copyright statute as guaranteeing a jury trial.
A U.S. law gives copyright owners the option of seeking "statutory damages" that fall within a range set by Congress instead of arguing in court over actual damages and lost profits suffered. Trial courts have consistently said litigants can demand a jury trial to determine actual damages, but federal appellate courts have differed on the question. Statutory damages can range from $200-$100,000 for each copyright violation.
Columbia argued that Congress created statutory damages in order to give copyright owners a way to "remedy a wrong" even if they could not pinpoint actual damages. The company said the judge should have discretion to fashion an appropriate judgment in those cases.
