Faulkner v. National Geographic Enterprises Inc., 04-0263 (2d Cir., Mar. 4, 2005).
New York Law Journal: National Geographic Wins Copyright Suit Over Articles, Photos on CD-Rom
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has confirmed a lower court ruling dismissing copyright claims against National Geographic by interpreting the copyrights at issue within the context of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2001 Tasini ruling.
The opinion, Faulkner v. National Geographic Enterprises Inc., 04-0263, by Judge Ralph Winter, combined multiple cases in which freelance writers and photographers accused National Geographic of copyright infringement over its sale of a set of CD-roms containing the entire collection of magazines dating back to 1888.
InternetCases.com: Electronic Scans of National Geographic Were Proper Revisions Under Tasini Standard
The Second Circuit has upheld the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the National Geographic Society and related entities, holding that the creation and distribution of electronic versions of National Geographic did not infringe the copyrights of the contributing photographers and authors. Applying the standard set forth in New York Times v. Tasini, the court determined that the electronic version was a “privileged revision” under Section 201(c) of the Copyright Act.
