Vigliotti v. Little Mumbai Market Inc.

Background

Gregg Vigliotti brought one claim against Little Mumbai Market Inc. under the Copyright Act for allegedly using a photograph without authorization. Vigliotti alleged that he first published the photograph in 2013 and registered it with the United States Copyright Office on March 2, 2018, under Registration Number VA 2-094-570. He alleged that Little Mumbai Market Inc. displayed the photograph on its Facebook account as early as May 7, 2015, and on its website around June 2021, without obtaining a license.

Vigliotti’s counsel notified the defendant of the alleged infringement in February 2023. The opinion states that the defendant did not respond to that correspondence and did not participate in the lawsuit.

Default and Liability

Vigliotti served the summons and complaint through the office of the Secretary of State of New York. The Clerk issued a certificate of default after the defendant failed to appear or respond. Vigliotti then moved for default judgment, damages, costs, and attorneys’ fees. The court issued an order requiring the defendant to explain why default judgment should not be entered, but the defendant still did not appear or respond.

A default judgment is a judgment entered when a party fails to defend the case. The court accepted the complaint’s well-pleaded factual allegations as true for deciding liability, while noting that it did not automatically accept the allegations about damages.

To establish copyright infringement, Vigliotti had to show ownership of a valid copyright and unauthorized copying. The court concluded that his allegations and supporting evidence adequately established both elements: his copyright registration supported ownership, and the alleged use on the defendant’s Facebook account and website supported unauthorized copying. The court therefore found that Vigliotti adequately stated his copyright-infringement claim.

Damages

Vigliotti sought statutory damages rather than actual damages and profits. The Copyright Act generally permits statutory damages of $750 to $30,000 for infringement of one work, and permits an award of up to $150,000 when the infringement is willful.

Vigliotti submitted a Getty Images license estimate indicating that the photograph’s fair-market license value was $1,985. The court stated that infringement is treated as willful by virtue of the defendant’s default and considered the defendant’s failure to respond or participate, as well as the need to deter future infringement. Applying a multiplier of five to the $1,985 license value, the court awarded $9,925 in statutory damages.

Attorneys’ Fees and Costs

The court awarded the requested attorneys’ fees after finding that the rates and hours were reasonable. The request covered 2.60 hours of attorney time at $400 per hour and one hour of paralegal time at $150 per hour. The total fee award was $1,190.

The court also awarded $460 in costs: a $405 filing fee and $55 for service of process.

Disposition

The court granted Vigliotti’s motion for default judgment. Specifically, the motion was granted to the extent that Vigliotti was awarded $9,925 in statutory damages, $1,190 in reasonable attorneys’ fees, $460 in costs, and post-judgment interest calculated under 28 U.S.C. § 1961. The Clerk was directed to enter judgment according to those terms and close the case.