Roc-a-Fella Logo Case Dismissed In Absence Of Contract & On Statute Of Limitations
/Walker v. Carter et al., No. 1:12-cv-05384 (S.D.N.Y. Sep. 26, 2016) [Doc. 363].
Jay-Z and the other defendants were granted summary judgment in a dispute over the creation, use and ownership of the logo for Roc-a-Fella Records because the plaintiff's contract claim was barred by lack of proof of a contract and the copyright claim was time-barred. Plaintiff alleged that he was the creative mastermind of the logo two decades ago, and that he was owed royalties under a "lost" contract. The Court addressed defendants' defense that the "statute of frauds" under New York law barred the claim, and Plaintiff's position that the "lost" contract satisfies the statute of frauds, finding that Plaintiff did not present evidence of the existence of the writing sufficient to create a triable issue of material fact.
As to the copyright claim, the Court noted that the classification of the claim -- as either for infringement or ownership -- determined the statute of limitations issue, and found that the crux of the issue was ownership of the copyright. It was time-barred based on when the ownership claim accrued.
- Attorney's Fees
- Breach of Contract
- Common Law Copyright Infringement
- Copyright
- Copyright Act
- Declaratory Judgment
- Digital
- DMCA
- EMI
- Infringement
- Licensing
- Motion to Dismiss
- New York Supreme Court
- P2P
- Pre-1972
- Public Performance
- Publishing
- Registration
- Royalties
- Rule 12(b)
- Sound Recording
- Southern District of New York
- Statute of Limitations
- Summary Judgment
- Trademark
