Ozuzu v. Function, Inc.
- Edgardo Ramos
- 1:18-cv-06799
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Ozuzu v. Function(x), Judge Ramos granted default judgment on liability but denied damages, fees, and costs without prejudice.
Chioma Ozuzu obtained a liability ruling against Function(x), Inc., but the court did not award damages, attorney’s fees, or costs at this stage.
What happened
In Ozuzu v. Function(x), Inc., photographer Chioma Ozuzu sued Function(x), Inc. for allegedly using his photograph of the cast of a television show without permission. Function(x) did not respond to the lawsuit or appear at a court hearing, so the court treated it as in default.
The court found that Ozuzu adequately showed he owned a valid copyright and that Function(x) reproduced the photograph without a license or consent. But Ozuzu did not provide enough evidence to establish the photograph’s market value or Function(x)’s profits, which were needed to determine damages.
Judge Edgardo Ramos granted Ozuzu’s motion for default judgment as to liability. The court denied without prejudice Ozuzu’s requests for damages, attorney’s fees, and costs, allowing him to renew those requests with supporting evidence within ten days of the order’s entry.
The detailed version
- Ozuzu v. Function, Inc. · No. 1:18-cv-06799
- Edgardo Ramos
- June 1, 2020
Background
Chioma Ozuzu sued Function(x), Inc. under the Copyright Act, alleging that Function(x) published a photograph of the cast members of The Real Housewives of New York on its website without Ozuzu’s permission or a license. The opinion identifies Ozuzu as the photograph’s author and copyright owner. Function(x) was served with the complaint but did not respond, appear in the action, or appear at the court’s order-to-show-cause hearing.
Ozuzu moved for default judgment and sought $10,000 in actual damages and/or Function(x)’s profits, along with $2,550 in attorney’s fees and $440 in costs.
Legal Standard
A default means that a party failed to defend the case. On a motion for default judgment, the court accepts well-pleaded factual allegations as true, except allegations about damages. The court must still determine whether those facts establish a valid claim. It must also examine the evidence supporting the requested damages and determine the amount with reasonable certainty.
Liability
The court held that Ozuzu established the two required elements of copyright infringement: ownership of a valid copyright and copying of original elements of the copyrighted work. The complaint adequately alleged that Function(x) reproduced the photograph in an online article without a license or Ozuzu’s permission. The court therefore found that Ozuzu established a basis for liability.
Damages
The Copyright Act allows a copyright owner to seek actual damages and any additional profits of the infringer, or statutory damages. Ozuzu elected to seek actual damages and/or Function(x)’s profits. The court found that Ozuzu did not state the photograph’s fair market value or provide supporting documents, such as prior licensing invoices. He also provided no information from which the court could determine Function(x)’s profits from using the photograph. The court therefore denied the damages request without prejudice, allowing Ozuzu to renew it with supporting evidence.
Attorney’s Fees and Costs
Because the court denied the damages request, it declined to decide Ozuzu’s requests for attorney’s fees and costs until he submitted sufficient evidence to support a damages award.
Disposition
The court granted Ozuzu’s motion for default judgment as to liability and denied without prejudice the motion as to damages, attorney’s fees, and costs. The court stated that Ozuzu could file a motion addressing damages, fees, and costs within ten days after the order was entered.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.