Dastar Corporation v. Twentieth Century Fox Film
Twentieth Century Fox (Fox) sued Dastar under the Lanham Act for copying a television series based on President Eisenhower’s manuscript Crusade in Europe. The district court granted summary judgment for Fox and the court of appeals affirmed in part, finding that Fox need not make an independent showing of consumer confusion and that awarded double profits to Fox.
Questions Presented:
1. Does the Lanham Act protect creative works from uncredited copying, even without the likelihood of consumer confusion?
2. May a court applying the Lanham Act award twice the defendant’s profits for purely deterrent purposes?
Decision under Review: U.S. Court of Appeals - 9th Circuit, Filed: April 19, 2002 (none; unpublished decision)
