Roblox Corporation v. WowWee Group Limited
- Susan Illston
- 3:22-cv-04476
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 1
Judge Illston granted Roblox Corporation’s motion in Roblox Corporation v. WowWee Group Limited, allowing copyright claims concerning certain Avatar Base elements.
Roblox Corporation may pursue claims that copyrightable elements of certain Avatar Bases included in registered derivative works were infringed; the opinion concerns the earlier dismissal order affecting claims against WowWee Group Limited and other defendants.
What happened
In Roblox Corporation v. WowWee Group Limited, Roblox asked the court to reconsider part of an earlier order dismissing claims based on Avatar Bases.
The court changed that part of the earlier order. Relying on an intervening Ninth Circuit decision, it ruled that Roblox may claim infringement of copyrightable elements of the Avatar Bases included in the registered Cindy, Kenneth, Dennis, and Lindsey digital avatars.
Judge Illston granted reconsideration of the relevant part of the dismissal order and amended it on October 20, 2023.
The detailed version
- Roblox Corporation v. WowWee Group Limited · No. 3:22-cv-04476
- Susan Illston
- Oct. 20, 2023
Background
Roblox Corporation moved for reconsideration of part of the court’s earlier order on a motion to dismiss. The portion at issue concerned claims based on the Avatar Bases.
Ruling
The court granted reconsideration of that part of the earlier dismissal order and amended it. In light of an intervening Ninth Circuit decision, Enterprise Management Ltd., Inc. v. Construx Software Builders, Inc., the court stated that Roblox may claim that copyrightable elements of the Avatar Bases included in the registered derivative works—the Cindy, Kenneth, Dennis, and Lindsey digital avatars—were infringed.
Disposition
The court granted the motion for reconsideration of the relevant part of the prior order and amended the dismissal order accordingly. The opinion does not state the ultimate outcome of the infringement claims.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.