Early v. My Mechanic Auto Repair
- Clarke
- 1:24-cv-00672
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Early v. My Mechanic Auto Repair, Judge Clarke granted default judgment for copyright and DMCA violations and referred damages issues to Magistrate Judge Parker.
The ruling affects the plaintiff and My Mechanic Auto Repair. The defendant is subject to default judgment for the stated copyright and DMCA violations, while the amounts of damages, attorney fees, and costs remain for an inquest before Magistrate Judge Parker.
What happened
In Early v. My Mechanic Auto Repair, the plaintiff sought default judgment after the defendant did not answer, appear, or respond to the court’s order to explain why judgment should not be entered.
The court found that the allegations established copyright infringement because the plaintiff owned the photograph and the defendant reproduced and publicly displayed it on its website. The court also found a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act because the defendant allegedly removed information identifying the plaintiff as the photograph’s author before publishing it.
Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke granted default judgment for the copyright and Digital Millennium Copyright Act violations. She referred damages, attorney fees, and costs to Magistrate Judge Parker for further proceedings.
The detailed version
- Early v. My Mechanic Auto Repair · No. 1:24-cv-00672
- Clarke
- June 10, 2024
Background
The plaintiff filed the action on January 30, 2024. The defendant was served with the complaint and summons at its business address on February 8, 2024. The defendant did not answer, appear, or otherwise respond to the complaint. After the court ordered the defendant to show why default judgment should not be entered, the defendant again failed to respond.
The plaintiff moved for default judgment against My Mechanic Auto Repair based on alleged violations of the Copyright Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Court’s analysis
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55, entering judgment against a party that fails to defend involves two steps: entering the party’s default and entering default judgment. A default means the defendant is treated as admitting the complaint’s factual allegations, but the court must still decide whether those allegations establish a legal basis for liability.
For the Copyright Act claim, the court explained that the plaintiff had to show ownership of a valid copyright and infringement through copying of original elements. The court found both requirements satisfied: the plaintiff asserted ownership of a valid copyright in the photograph, and the complaint alleged that the defendant reproduced and publicly displayed the photograph on its website. The court found that the plaintiff had shown a prima facie case of copyright infringement.
For the DMCA claim under 17 U.S.C. § 1202(b), the court explained that the plaintiff had to show copyright-management information—such as a watermark or information identifying the copyright owner—and its intentional removal or alteration. The court found these requirements satisfied because the plaintiff asserted that the defendant removed information identifying the plaintiff as the photograph’s author before publishing the photograph on the defendant’s website.
Ruling and next steps
Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke granted default judgment for violations of the Copyright Act and the DMCA. The court referred the matter to Magistrate Judge Parker for an inquest—further proceedings to determine damages, attorney fees, and costs. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate ECF No. 15.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.