Herman Leon Brickey v. Amazon.com, Inc.
Herman Leon Brickey v. Amazon.com, Inc., No. Sa-13-Ca-961-Xr,
Western District Ct. of Texas (San Antonio Div.),
January 27, 2014
1) Initial Copyright Claims
Case Details
This is a copyright infringement case to determine whether actionable copyright infringement occurred in the form of unauthorized sales of copyrighted work. Plaintiff and Amazon had contract with Amazon allowing them to sell Plaintiff’s CDs. Plaintiff withdrew its consent for Amazon to sell its CDs, and subsequently sued Amazon for unauthorized sales of the CDs. Amazon moved for summary judgment.
Brickey’s Argument
- Amazon unlawfully continued to sell Plaintiff’s copyrighted work after Plaintiff withdrew his consent for them to do so.
Amazon’s Argument
- Amazon bought this CD from another seller who had a contract with Plaintiff to sell its CDs and lawfully sold the CD to Amazon
- The only sale of Plaintiff’s CD after Plaintiff’s withdrawal of consent was this one CD that Amazon already purchased and owned.
Summary and Conclusion
Court dismissed case and agreed with Amazon; not every sale of copyrighted work constitutes infringement, Amazon rightfully owned this CD and had right to sell it.
2) Summary Judgment Granted
Herman Leon Brickey v. Amazon.com, Inc., Civil Action No. Sa-13-Ca-961-Xr.
United States District Court for the Western District Of Texas San Antonio Division, July 18, 2014
This case regards the summary judgment decision for the copyright infringement claim concerning the allegedly unauthorized sale of Plaintiff Herman “Bick” Brickey’s music album.
In June of 2009, Mr. Brickey entered into a contract with Defendant CB Baby for the distribution of his CD, “Texas Blues and County Tear Jerkers.”
In March of 2012, Mr. Brickey requested that CD Baby discontinue the sale of his CD. The core of Mr. Brickey’s copyright infringement claim is his contention that Defendants unlawfully continued sales after he withdrew consent.
Summary judgment is proper when the evidence shows “that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Rule 56 “mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.”
July 18, 2014: The Court considered Defendants Amazon.com, Inc. and CD Baby’s motion for summary judgment. After careful consideration, the motion is granted.
3) Appeal Dismissed
Herman Leon Brickey v. Amazon.com and CDbaby.com, (Defendants-Appellees) and Jeffory Bezos, President, Partner, CD Universe, and Rebecca Valadez (Defendants) 2014-1706
United States Court Of Appeals For The Federal Circuit, October 7, 2014
Case Details
This case regards the appeal of case against Amazon.com, Inc. by Defendant Herman Leon Brickey concerning copyright infringement.
Although an appeal may be transferred to a court that would have jurisdiction if an appeal could have been brought in that other court, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1631, in this case, the district court had not yet entered a final judgment. Thus, transfer to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is not appropriate.
The appeal was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.