No. 21-01542 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS …

No. 21-01542

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT

SAS INSTITUTE INC., Plaintiff-Appellant, v.

WORLD PROGRAMMING LIMITED, Defendant-Appellee.

On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

Case No. 2:18-cv-00295-JRG, Hon. J. Rodney Gilstrap, Chief Judge

BRIEF OF CREATORS' RIGHTS GROUPS AS AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF APPELLANT AND REVERSAL

Date: May 21, 2021

COWAN DEBAETS ABRAHAMS & SHEPPARD LLP

Nancy E. Wolff Sara Gates 41 Madison Avenue, 38th Floor New York, NY 10010 Telephone: (212) 974-7474 Facsimile: (212) 974-8474 nwolff@

Counsel for Amici Curiae

CERTIFICATE OF INTEREST Counsel for amici curiae certify the following: 1. Represented Entities: American Photographic Artists, American Society of Media Photographers, The Authors Guild, Inc., Digital Media Licensing Association, Dramatists Guild of America, Romance Writers of America, Songwriters Guild of America, and Textbook & Academic Authors Association. 2. Real Party in Interest: See paragraph 1. 3. Parent Corporations and Stockholders: None. 4. Legal Representatives: No others. 5. Related Cases: None. 6. Organizational Victims and Bankruptcy Cases: None.

Date: May 21, 2021

/s/ Nancy E. Wolff Nancy E. Wolff

Counsel for Amici Curiae

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE .............................................................................. 1

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 4

ARGUMENT............................................................................................................ 6

I. COPYRIGHT OWNERS WHO CHOOSE TO ENFORCE THEIR RIGHTS SHOULD NOT NEED TO PROVE A NEGATIVE ............................................ 6

A. Upsetting the Allocation of Burdens in Copyright Cases Undermines the Purpose of Copyright .......................................................... 6

B. The District Court Misapplied the Burden-Shifting Framework ................................................ 8

C. Extension of the District Court's Burden-Shifting Framework Could be Disastrous for Creators ............................................. 11

1. Photography................................................................... 12

2. Writing........................................................................... 15

3. Music ............................................................................. 19

CONCLUSION....................................................................................................... 22

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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Cases

Page(s)

Alexander v. Haley, 460 F. Supp. 40 (S.D.N.Y. 1978) ...................................................................... 16

Batiste v. Najm, 28 F. Supp. 3d 595 (E.D. La. 2014)..................................................................... 1

Beal v. Paramount Pictures Corp., 20 F.3d 454 (11th Cir. 1994) ............................................................................. 16

Boisson v. Banian, Ltd., 273 F.3d 262 (2d Cir. 2001) .............................................................................. 11

Bryant v. Gordon, 483 F. Supp. 2d 605 (N.D. Ill. 2007) ................................................................. 13

Burrow-Giles Lithographic Co. v. Sarony, 111 U.S. 53 (1884) ............................................................................................ 12

Compulife Software Inc. v. Newman, 959 F.3d 1288 (11th Cir. 2020) .................................................................. passim

Corbello v. Valli, 974 F.3d 965 (9th Cir. 2020) ....................................................................... 11, 15

Cortes v. Universal Music Latino, 477 F. Supp. 3d 1290 (S.D. Fla. 2020) .............................................................. 19

Ets-Hokin v. Skyy Spirits, Inc., 225 F.3d 1068 (9th Cir. 2000) ........................................................................... 13

Feist Publ'ns, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co., 499 U.S. 340 (1991) ................................................................................ 6, 10, 18

Feldman v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., 723 F. Supp. 2d 357 (D. Mass. 2010) ................................................................ 16

Fourth Estate Pub. Benefit Corp. v. Wall-, LLC, 139 S. Ct. 881 (2019)........................................................................................... 7

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Greenbie v. Noble, 151 F. Supp. 45 (S.D.N.Y. 1957) ........................................................................ 4

Griffin v. Sheeran, 351 F. Supp. 3d 492 (S.D.N.Y. 2019) ......................................................... 19?20

Harney v. Sony Pictures Television, Inc., 704 F.3d 173 (1st Cir. 2013).................................................................. 11, 12?13

Hoehling v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 618 F.2d 972 (2d Cir. 1980) .............................................................................. 16

Jewelers' Circular Pub. Co. v. Keystone Pub. Co., 274 F. 932 (S.D.N.Y. 1921) .............................................................................. 13

Johnson v. Gordon, 409 F.3d 12 (1st Cir. 2005)................................................................................ 19

Lil' Joe Wein Music, Inc. v. Jackson, 245 F. App'x 873 (11th Cir. 2007) .............................................................. 11, 19

Mannion v. Coors Brewing Co., 377 F. Supp. 2d 444 (S.D.N.Y. 2005) ............................................................... 12

Mazer v. Stein, 347 U.S. 201 (1954) ............................................................................................ 8

Muhammad-Ali v. Final Call, Inc., 832 F.3d 755 (7th Cir. 2016) ............................................................................... 4

O'Neill v. Dell Publishing Co., 630 F.2d 685 (1st Cir. 1980).............................................................................. 16

Positive Black Talk, Inc. v. Cash Money Recs., Inc., No. CIV.A. 02-0425, 2003 WL 1921999 (E.D. La. Apr. 21, 2003).................. 19

Psihoyos v. Nat'l Geographic Soc'y, 409 F. Supp. 2d 268 (S.D.N.Y. 2005) ............................................................... 13

Pyatt v. Jean, No. CV-04-3908 (TCP) (AKT), 2006 WL 8440910 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 29, 2006).................................................................................. 19

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