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Tenth Circuit: Digital model of car not separately copyrightable because no originality

By McKee, Voorhees & Sease, P.L.C.

In a decision this week, the Tenth Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendants in a copyright case, finding a digital work lacking sufficient originality to warrant copyright protection.  The works at issue were three-dimensional computer models of cars for use in advertisements.

The court agreed that the plaintiff "made many judgments that required both skill and technical know-how.  Those judgments may have even involved 'creativity,' as that word is commonly used."  However, the end result was simply a copy of the car in a different medium.  In fact, the plaintiff's intent was to reproduce the underlying work with absolute fidelity.  Thus, the work lacked any original addition to the underlying work and was not eligible for copyright protection.

More on Meshwerks, Inc. v. Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc. after the jump.

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Full post as published by FileWrapper on June 19, 2008 (boomark / email).