Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an opinion in Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. v. Griffith, No. 21-6088 (Sep. 21, 2022), reversing and remanding a district court’s grant of Defendants’ motion for summary judgment for lack of standing in a copyright action.
On August 26, 2017, boxer Floyd Mayweather fought MMA fighter Conor McGregor in a boxing match promoted and produced by Showtime, Inc. (“the Fight”). Showtime exclusively contracted with Mayweather Promotions, LLC to exhibit and distribute the production of the Fight. Mayweather enlisted smaller distributors, including Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. (JHP), to issue commercial licenses. Mayweather gave JHP “the sole and exclusive third party license . . . to distribute . . . and authorize the public exhibition of the [Fight]” in a designated geographic area. Two months after the Fight, Showtime registered the copyright for the production of the Fight. Thereafter, Showtime signed a contract giving JHP “the exclusive right . . . to take enforcement actions with respect to any unauthorized exploitation of the Commercial Rights in the [Fight].” JHP sued Defendants for copyright infringement for having shown the Fight at their bar without a commercial license. Defendants moved for summary judgment asserting JHP lacked standing to sue because it did not own the copyright to the Fight on the day it was aired by Defendants. The district court granted the motion, concluding that the retroactive agreement between Showtime and JHP was “essentially worthless.” JHP appealed.
The Sixth Circuit reversed. The Court held that ownership of a copyright may be transferred in whole or in part by any means of conveyance or by operation of law, and that each exclusive right can be transferred individually. Prior to the fight, Showtime, Mayweather, and JHP entered into lengthy contracts carving out each party’s rights to the Fight. After the Fight, the parties signed a short agreement related to the copyright registration. The Court concluded that the fact that the post-Fight copyright agreement was short and did not reiterate rights that were agreed to pre-Fight did not make the rights illusory or deprive JHP of the rights necessary to sue. Accordingly, the Court reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment and remanded with instructions to enter partial summary judgment in favor of JHP on standing.