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Legislation and Regulation Keyed to Manning, 5th Ed.
Silvers v. Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc.
Citation:
402 F.3d 881 (2005)Facts
Nancey Silvers wrote the script for a made-for-television movie called “The Other Woman” as a work-for-hire for Frank & Bob Films II. As a work-for-hire, the copyright to the script belonged to Frank & Bob Films, not to Silvers. About three years after “The Other Woman” aired, Sony Pictures released the motion picture “Stepmom.” Frank & Bob Films subsequently executed an “Assignment of Claims and Causes of Action” in favor of Silvers, assigning her “all right, title and interest in and to any claims and causes of action against Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc.” with respect to “The Other Woman” script and “Stepmom.” Importantly, Frank & Bob Films retained ownership of the underlying copyright to “The Other Woman” script. Silvers then filed a complaint against Sony for copyright infringement, alleging that “Stepmom” was substantially similar to her script. Sony moved to dismiss on the ground that Silvers lacked standing to bring an action for copyright infringement because she had no legal or beneficial ownership interest in the copyright itself.
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