Ninth Circuit Allows "Lassie" to Come Back Home to its Author's Family, Rules Against Its Assignee, Classic Media, Inc.

Holding:

In a copyright dispute regarding the fictional novel and story "Lassie Come Home" ("Lassie Works"), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of the daughter of its author, defendant Winifred Knight Mewborn ("Mewborn"), in her controversy with Lassie Television, Inc. ("LTI"), the predecessor-in-interest of plaintiff Classic Media, Inc. ("Classic"). Each party had earlier filed for declaratory relief as to their respective copyright interests in the Lassie Works, works that were in their renewal copyright terms in their 1978 assignment of rights from Mewborn to LTI. The lower court, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California , had sided with Classic, holding that Mewborn had already relinquished her termination right, and the 1996 Notice of Termination was ineffective because Mewborn no longer had any interest in the copyright transferred via the 1976 and 1978 assignments (the "1976 Assignment" and "1978 Assignment", respectively) . On appeal, the Ninth Circuit reversed the grant of summary judgment for Classic, stating that Mewborn did not waive her termination rights in the 1978 assignment. Consequently, the Ninth Circuit found that the 1996 Termination Notice was effective, and that any rights assigned to LTI by the 1976 Assignment reverted to Mewborn as of the effective termination date, May 1, 1998. The Ninth Circuit thus directed the District Court to enter partial summary judgment in favor of Mewborn on her claim for declaratory relief.

Detailed Summary:

Mewborn, one of the daughters of Eric Knight, the author of the world-famous Lassie Works,  appealed the District Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Classic and denial of Mewborn’s partial summary judgment motion.

Knight authored the beloved children’s story, “Lassie Come Home,” about a boy and his dog who, when sold to a rich duke by the boy’s poverty-stricken family, makes an arduous journey to return home to her original owner. Opinion, p. 8530.  Inspired by the harsh realities of life during the Great Depression, the story of the fearless collie, Lassie, and the boy who loved her, was…

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