FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION JUL 15 2010
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
DEBORAH NOVAK, JOHN WITEK, No. 08-56957
AND WITEK & NOVAK, INC.,
D.C. No. 2:07-cv-04000-
Plaintiffs–Appellants, GAF-PLA
v.
MEMORANDUM *
WARNER BROS PICTURES, LLC, et al.,
Defendants–Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Central District of California
Gary A. Feess, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted March 4, 2010 **
Pasadena, California
Before: CANBY, GOULD and IKUTA, Circuit Judges.
Deborah Novak, John Witek, and Witek & Novak, Inc., (collectively, the
“Producers”) hold the copyright in Ashes to Glory, a documentary film that
portrays the rebuilding of Marshall University’s football program after it lost all
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
but a handful of its players, coaches, and prominent supporters in a disastrous
plane crash in 1970. The Producers brought this action against Warner Brothers
Pictures and several related parties (collectively, “Warner Brothers”), alleging
copyright infringement, breach of contract, and unfair competition, all in
connection with the Warner Brothers’ subsequent production of the allegedly
infringing work, the dramatic film We Are Marshall. We Are Marshall is based on
the same historical facts as Ashes to Glory. The district court granted summary
judgment in favor of Warner Brothers on all claims. The Producers timely
appealed. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. Upon de novo
review, see Funky Films, Inc. v. Time Warner Entm’t Co., 462 F.3d 1072, 1076
(9th Cir. 2006), we affirm.
Proof of infringement in this case requires a fact-based showing that We Are
Marshall and Ashes to Glory are “substantially similar.” Three Boys Music Corp.
v. Bolton, 212 F.3d 477, 481 (9th Cir. 2000) (quoting Smith v. Jackson, 84 F.3d
1213, 1218 (9th Cir. 1996)). The district court, for its part, conducted a
meticulous, almost frame-by-frame analysis of the two works and concluded that
the Producers had failed to raise a triable issue of substantial similarity. Having
reviewed the two works ourselves, we agree with the district court that the works
are not substantially similar.
2
It is true that the same historical facts underlie both productions, but
historical facts are not protected by copyright. See, e.g., Narell v. Freeman, 872
F.2d 907, 910-11 (9th Cir. 1989). The issue for purposes of summary judgment is
whether the Producers raised a triable issue of substantial similarity between We
Are Marshall and the protected expression in Ashes to Glory. That issue is
determined by applying an “extrinsic” test, which “focuses on ‘articulable
similarities between the plot, themes, dialogue, mood, setting, pace, characters, and
sequence of events’ in the two works.” Funky Films, 462 F.3d at 1077 (quoting
Kouf v. Walt Disney Pictures & Television, 16 F.3d 1042, 1045 (9th Cir. 1994)).
Except for matters of historical fact, these elements of the two works before us are
not substantially similar, as the district court explained in detail. Contrary to the
Producers’ claims, we conclude that the district court did compare the “actual
concrete elements” between the two works, rather than mere plot ideas. Narell,
872 F.2d at 912.
The Producers contend that the district court imposed an improperly severe
standard of infringement when it quoted Narell for the proposition that “[h]istorical
facts and theories may be copied, as long as the defendant does not ‘bodily
appropriate’ the expression of the plaintiff.” Narell, 872 F.2d at 910–11 (quoting
Landsberg v. Scrabble Crossword Game Players, Inc., 736 F.2d 485, 489 (9th Cir.
3
1984)). But neither Narell nor the district court substituted a “bodily
appropriation” standard for the “substantial similarity” standard. See id. at 912–13.
Although allowances necessarily must be made for permissible similarity in
relating unprotected facts, see Landsberg, 736 F.2d at 488–89, the substantial
similarity standard of infringement has long been and remains the law of this
circuit. See, e.g., Funky Films, Inc., 462 F.3d at 1076–77. The district court
properly applied that standard in conducting its analysis.
The Producers also rely on the fact that Warner Brothers had total access to
Ashes to Glory before producing We Are Marshall. The Producers rely on the
“inverse ratio” rule, which ostensibly lessens the quantum of proof required to
show copying when the plaintiff can show that the defendant had a “‘high degree
of access’” to the protected work. Three Boys Music Corp., 212 F.3d at 485
(quoting Smith, 84 F.3d at 1218). This proposition does not aid the Producers here,
however, because “[n]o amount of proof of access will suffice to show copying
if there are no similarities” between the protected expressions in the two works.
Funky Films, 462 F.3d at 1081 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).
Even under a relaxed standard, the requisite similarities must be “concrete or
articulable” to satisfy the extrinsic test. Id. at 1081–82. In this case, the only
concrete or articulable similarities between Ashes to Glory and We Are Marshall
4
consist of unprotectable scènes à faire, see Smith, 84 F.3d at 1216, and historical
facts, which, like all facts, whether “scientific, historical, biographical, [or] news of
the day[,] . . .‘ may not be copyrighted and are part of the public domain available
to every person.’” Feist Publ’ns, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co., 499 U.S. 340,
347–48 (1991) (quoting Miller v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 650 F.2d 1365, 1369
(5th Cir. 1981)). The Producers also argue that evidence of substantial similarity
can be shown in the same sequencing of events in the two films, especially in the
two works’ opening montages. Upon reviewing the films, we conclude that the
two films do not contain the same sequencing of events: even in the two films’
opening sequences, Ashes to Glory differs significantly from We Are Marshall by
including the film’s title and many additional shots of the town of Huntington and
the university campus. The Producers have failed to raise a triable issue of
substantial similarity, and the district court did not err in entering summary
judgment for Warner Brothers on the copyright infringement claim.
The Producers next argue, on various grounds, that the district court
committed error in granting summary judgment for Warner Brothers on the breach-
of-contract claims. We have considered those arguments and find them meritless.
The evidence conclusively establishes that, when negotiations broke off, the parties
had not reached agreement on the purchase price. “‘The failure to reach a meeting
5
of the minds on all material points prevents the formation of a contract even
though the parties have orally agreed upon some of the terms, or have taken some
action related to the contract.’” Bustamante v. Intuit, Inc., 45 Cal. Rptr. 3d 692,
704 (Cal. Ct. App. 2006) (quoting Banner Entm’t, Inc. v. Superior Court, 72
Cal. Rptr. 2d 598, 604 (Cal. Ct. App. 1998)) (brackets and emphasis omitted). No
rational jury could find that a contract was entered between the Producers and
Warner Brothers. Nor have the Producers produced evidence of disclosure of their
work under conditions that would permit a jury to find an implied contract under
the rule of Desny v. Wilder, 46 Cal. 2d 715, 738–39 (1956).1 Accordingly, the
judgment of the district court is
AFFIRMED.
1
As the Producers recognize, their unfair competition claim depended on
their establishing their copyright or contract claims.
6