Home » Copyright Law Updates » New Judicial Opinions » Current Summary
Copyright Law Summary
DSMC, Inc. v. Convera Corp.
01-2284 (EGS), 2007 WL 902034, D.D.C., 03/27/2007
Holding
Defendant's intermediate copying of plaintiff's database schema to extract raw data and create a similar product with similar features was not fair use.
Detailed Summary
Plaintiff and defendant worked together on a project to migrate National Geographic’s film footage onto a searchable internet site. At some point, defendant’s services were no longer needed and its access to the database was limited. On this motion for summary judgment, the court noted that plaintiff had proffered sufficient evidence to create the inference that defendant had the express purpose of examining plaintiff’s database schema and copying it: defendant had access to the back-up tape, a password and user ID so it could see the inner workings of plaintiff’s product. Defendant argued that its “intermediate copying” of the database schema in order to write scripts to migrate data into its product was fair use. The court disagreed, noting that the fair use doctrine would not apply where the purpose of the copying was to go into competition with the plaintiff from whom there was copying. Defendant and plaintiff here are direct competitors; defendant not only wanted to extract raw data but also wanted to create a similar product with similar features. This was not fair use, so the copyright claim could go forward.
Service
Link to this article · 
Send via E-mail · 
Printable Version (opens in new window)
Copyright Law
Enter our NEW discussion forums to interact with other readers about Copyright Law.
Companies Mentioned
Copyright Law
The following companies are mentioned in Copyright Law Updates:
American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers
Northern Lights Products, Inc. d.b.a. GlowProducts.com
Litecubes, LLC
Poof Apparel Corp.
Derek Andrew, Inc.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Inc.
Mattel, Inc.
Geoffrey Productions, Inc.
MGA Entertainment, Inc.
Universal City Studios LLLP
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.
Turner Network Television LP, LLLP
Turner Network Sales, Inc.
Turner Classic Movies, LP, LLLP
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
The Cartoon Network LP, LLP
Paramount Pictures Corp.
NBC Studios, Inc.
Disney Enterprises, Inc.
CSC Holdings, Inc.
CBS Broadcasting Inc.
Cablevision Systems Corp.
Cable News Network LP, LLLP
American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
Westbound Records, Inc.
UMG Recordings, Inc.
Janice Combs Publishing, Inc. d.b.a. Justin Combs Publishing
Bad Boy Records LLC
Bad Boy Entertainment, Inc. d.b.a. Bad Boy Records
Yahoo! Inc.
Television Music License Committee
SESAC, Inc.
RealNetworks, Inc.
AOL LLC f.k.a. America Online, Inc.
Sony ATV Tunes, LLC
3D Recon
MLE Music
Saatchi & Saatchi North America
Julie Ann’s, Inc.
National Geographic Society
Julie Ann Bible
National Geographic Enterprises, Inc.
Hampshire House Publishing Corp.
Mindscape, Inc.
YouTube, LLC
YouTube, Inc.
Viacom, Inc.
Google, Inc.
Future Association Premier League Limited
H2O Industrial Services, Inc.
The lawyers at Zuber & Taillieu LLP have top credentials, and offer exceptional services in all areas of law found on LawUpdates.com.
Visit Zuber & Taillieu LLP
