IPC recently obtained a favorable settlement for its client, Robert W. Cabell, on his claim that the copyrights for his musical entitled “Z-The Musical of Zorro” were being infringed by a musical licensed by Defendant, Zorro Productions, Inc entitled “Zorro, the Musical.” Although Zorro Productions purports to be the longtime holder of intellectual property rights relating to Zorro, Mr. Cabell filed suit in the Northern District of California alleging that his musical was based on unprotected public domain material, and furthermore, his musical contained original content developed by him that was copied by Zorro Productions.
After summary judgment motions were filed by both parties, Judge Davila in the Northern District not only granted Mr. Cabell’s motion declaring that his musical did not infringe any rights held by Zorro Production, but also denied Zorro Productions’ summary judgment motion on Mr. Cabell’s copyright infringement claims finding that a reasonable juror could find that the two works are substantially similar, which laid the foundation for an advantageous settlement. IPC handles copyright infringement matters all over the country. If a third party is claiming that your work infringes their rights, you may have valid defenses and potentially counterclaims against them. Please contact IPC for a consultation. |