[Download] "Masquerade Novelty Inc. v. Unique Industries Inc." by United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit * Book PDF Kindle ePub Free

May 14, 2021

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Title: Masquerade Novelty Inc. v. Unique Industries Inc.
Author : United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Release Date : January 20, 1990
Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
Pages : * pages
Size : 74 KB

Description

Opinion OF THE COURT STAPLETON, Circuit Judge. This is an appeal from a grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants Unique Industries, Inc. and Everett Novak (collectively ""Unique"") in this copyright infringement action brought by Masquerade Novelty, Inc. The district court held that the relevant products made by Masquerade, masks configured to resemble the noses of a pig, elephant, and a parrot respectively, were ""useful articles"" under 17 U.S.C. Â§ 101 and were not copyrightable because their sculptural elements could not be separated from their utilitarian purpose of allowing a person to create humor by masquerading in an animal's nose. Thus, it entered judgment for Unique on Masquerade's complaint. We find that because the only utilitarian function of the nose masks is in their portrayal of animal noses, the district court erred in concluding that they were not copyrightable. Thus, we reverse the grant of summary judgment for Unique and remand for further proceedings on the issue of infringement.