Decision cautions claimants against bringing willful
infringement claims without any evidence to support them
HOUSTON, Sept. 26,
2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Attorneys from global law
firm Greenberg Traurig LLP's Houston office secured an appellate court
victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for
Houston art studio Mix Creative
Learning Center, LLC; DBA, Artmix Studio in Michel Keck v. Mix Creative Learning Center,
LLC, et al., case number 23-20188. The case is a copyright and
trademark dispute originally brought by mixed-media artist
Michel Keck in the U.S. District
Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division.
The dispute centered on claims of copyright and trademark
infringement based on Mix Creative Learning Center's use of Keck's
Dog Art in art kits sold by the studio online. Keck's lawsuit
argued for enhanced statutory damages for willful infringement in
an amount up to $150,000 for each of
the six copyrighted works at issue under the Copyright Act, as well
as injunctive relief and other claims.
The District Court denied the claims and found that, as a matter
of law, there was no willful infringement and the doctrine of "fair
use" protected Mix Creative Learning Center's conduct. It also
granted summary judgment to Mix Creative on the trademark claim,
although Mix Creative Learning Center had not sought summary
judgment on that claim. The District Court also awarded attorney's
fees and costs to Mix Creative Learning Center as a prevailing
party under Section 505 of the Copyright Act in the amount of
$102,569.72.
Keck appealed the District Court's ruling. The Fifth Circuit
affirmed the District Court's decisions, concluding that (i) the
fair use defense to copyright infringement applies since Mix
Creative Learning Center's use was transformative and unlikely to
cause harm to markets for Keck's copyrighted works, even though the
studio's use was commercial in nature; (ii) any error in the
District Court's sua sponte grant of summary judgment on the
trademark claim was harmless; and (iii) the District Court did not
abuse its discretion in awarding fees.
"I am so grateful to Greenberg Traurig Shareholders Roland Garcia and Mark
Chretien for all of their help, knowledge, and kindness,"
said Jacqueline Kenneally, owner of
Mix Creative Learning Center. "This result is an enormous relief
for ArtMix and me, as well as other art teachers and artists
everywhere. Thanks to their good work, I can resume teaching my
students about artists from around the world, continuing to give
them full credit for their inspiration with more joy again after
this nearly two-year-long journey."
"We very much appreciate the Fifth Circuit's attention on this
complex and important matter," Garcia and Chretien said in a joint
statement. "The case presented unique issues of fair use in a
commercial art school setting and gives guidance for future artists
and art instructors. The fee award cautions claimants against
bringing willful infringement claims without any evidence to
support the claims."
The Greenberg Traurig attorney team also included Shareholder
Elizabeth "Heidi" G. Bloch.
In Michel Keck v. Mix Creative
Learning Center, LLC. the Fifth Circuit issued a unanimous
published opinion by Justice Edith
Jones with Circuit Panel Members Justice Jerry Smith and Justice James Ho.
About Greenberg Traurig, LLP – Texas: Texas
is important to Greenberg Traurig, LLP and the firm's history. With
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Traurig, LLP, +1 954.468.1770, kraftburkel@gtlaw.com, gtlaw.com
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SOURCE Greenberg Traurig, LLP