Substantial Confusion: The Ninth Circuit’s Approach to Early Dismissal of Literary Works Cases
Greenberg Glusker's Litigation Group Chair, Aaron Moss, will moderate the panel, "Substantial Confusion: The Ninth Circuit’s Approach to Early Dismissal of Literary Works Cases," hosted by the Los Angeles Copyright Society on October 14, 2020.
With beaches, movie theaters and amusement parks closed for business, the Ninth Circuit spent its summer vacation deciding four substantial similarity cases involving The Shape of Water, Pirates of the Caribbean, Inside Out and Empire. In unpublished opinions, the Court affirmed early dismissals in two of the cases, but reversed in the other two, leaving copyright lawyers and district court judges trying to make sense of it all.
This panel of experts will explore the Ninth Circuit’s approach to substantial similarity, tackling such issues as when lawsuits can be dismissed prior to discovery, the role of expert witnesses, and the process district court judges may use to decide these cases going forward.