Ninth Circuit: MGM Pictures, and Not the Creator of Pink Panther, Owns the Copyright to “The Pink Panther” Motion Picture

Holding:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Inc., and not the heirs of the creator of Pink Panther, owns the copyright to the Pink Panther motion picture (“Motion Picture”). In affirming the decision of the District Court, the Ninth Circuit held that circumstances of the case, including an Assignment and Employment Agreement entered into by the creator, Maurice Richlin (“Richlin”), and the film company, as well as the absence of supervisory powers of Richlin over the motion picture, demonstrated that Richlin was not a co-author of the motion picture. Although Richlin was the co-author of the “Treatment” that was a critical component of the film, the motion picture’s certificate of registration issued in 1963 and its renewal in 1991 identified the company as its sole claimant and author. Further, Richlin failed to secure a separate federal statutory copyright protection for the "Treatment." The Ninth Circuit found that because Richlin neither co-owned nor coauthored the Pink Panther motion picture, neither he nor his heirs have any interest in its copyright.

Detailed Summary:

In April 1962, Richlin and Blake Edwards (“Edwards”) coauthored a fourteen-page Treatment initially entitled “The Pink Rajah,” but later renamed “The Pink Panther.” The Treatment served as the basis for the well-known motion picture, “The Pink Panther,” and numerous derivative works. Richlin and Edwards entered into an employment agreement dated May 14, 1962 (the “Employment Agreement”) with the Mirisch Corporation of Delaware (“Mirisch”) to write the screenplay for the Motion Picture. They agreed to create the screenplay as a “work made for hire.” Under this contract, Richlin and Edwards received a combined $150,000 for their work on the Treatment and the…

More Updates