ACE Pictures, Inc. v. Tech Times LLC

Background

ACE Pictures, Inc. sued Tech Times LLC for copyright infringement involving a photograph of actress Emma Stone. The opinion states that ACE held a copyright in the photograph, which was taken on November 27, 2017, and registered with the U.S. Copyright Office under registration number VA2-107-219. ACE alleged that Tech Times selected, copied, stored, and displayed the photograph on its website without ACE’s permission or a license. The website was supported by paid advertisements.

ACE properly served Tech Times on May 10, 2022. Tech Times did not answer or otherwise respond, so the Clerk entered a certificate of default on June 24, 2022. ACE then moved for default judgment. After the court ordered Tech Times to explain why default judgment should not be entered, Tech Times did not respond.

Court’s Analysis

Under Rule 55 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a court may enter default judgment after a defendant fails to plead or otherwise defend the case. A default generally treats well-pleaded allegations about liability as admitted, but it does not establish the amount of damages. The court must still determine whether the allegations establish legal liability.

For copyright infringement, the plaintiff must identify the original work, show ownership and proper registration, and identify the defendant’s infringing acts and when they occurred. The court found that ACE’s allegations met those requirements: ACE owned the specific registered photograph, and Tech Times published it on its website without licensing or consent.

Ruling

The court held that ACE was entitled to default judgment as to liability and GRANTED ACE’s motion for default judgment as to liability. The opinion does not determine damages or state a damages amount.