The plaintiff knew that he, and he alone, had a valid copyright in his song and could not plausibly rely on the false statements made by the defendant.
Records, despite Warner Bros.' claim that Grand Upright did not own a valid copyright in the sampled song.
The court states the test for copyright infringement as copying an item that is the subject of a valid copyright, making no mention of improper appropriation of protectible elements.
The lawsuit failed due to problems with Oliver's original paperwork resulting in Oliver not holding a valid copyright.
The plaintiffs moved for a partial summary judgment and argued that they had a valid copyright to the material which the defendants had distributed through CD-ROMs.
US law requires a copyright holder to establish ownership of a valid copyright and the copying of constituent elements of the work that are original.
Assuming the plaintiff proves ownership of a valid copyright, the holder must then establish both actual copying and improper appropriation of the work.
Here, the judge ruled that Amaretto's unfair business practices claim was viable here, as Ozimals didn't have a valid copyright.
Raskin successfully sued and won a settlement, since he had slightly altered the tune to fit his lyrics and had taken out the valid new copyright.
Judicial opinions themselves may not be copyrighted, but West obtained an injunction on the ground that it had a valid copyright in its "arrangement" of the opinions.