Nutt v. National Institute Inc. for the Imp. of Memory

• Decision Date: 11 March 1929
• Docket Number: No. 213.,213.
• Citation: 31 F.2d 236
• Parties: NUTT v. NATIONAL INSTITUTE INCORPORATED FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF MEMORY.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

31 F.2d 236 (1929)

NUTT v. NATIONAL INSTITUTE INCORPORATED FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF MEMORY.

No. 213.

Circuit Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

March 11, 1929.

Henry F. Parmelee and Harold H. Corbin, both of New York City, Curtiss K. Thompson, of New Haven, Conn., and Harold J. Gallagher, of New York City, for appellant.

Edmond M. Bartholow, Stephen F. Dunn, and Henry E. Rockwell, all of New Haven, Conn., for appellee.

Before MANTON, SWAN, and CHASE, Circuit Judges.

MANTON, Circuit Judge.

An interlocutory decree was entered below, sustaining, as valid and infringed, appellee's copyright, a series of three lectures entitled "How to Improve Memory." The infringing lectures relate to the same subject. The author of the copyrighted lectures assigned his copyright, December 6, 1927, to the appellee, which was then organized, and of which the assignor became the president. Appellant was employed by a copartnership of which the appellee's president was a member, and continued in that service and the conduct of the business until October, 1922, when he severed his connection with that copartnership and embarked in the occupation of lecturing on memory improvement. His training consisted only of his experience with the copartnership, where he had opportunity to learn and know the substance of the appellee's lectures. The copyright of these lectures was granted October 23, 1925. As filed, they were the result of a gradual growth over a three-year period of improvements and additions. The infringing lectures were delivered December 14 and 15, 1927. A transcript thereof is before us.

The certificate of registration is prima facie evidence of the fact stated therein. Section 55, Copyright Act 1909; U. S. C. A. tit. 17, § 55. A comparison of the appellant's lectures with the copyrighted lectures shows similarity and copying of the association, presentation, and combination of the ideas and thought which go to make up the appellee's literary composition. Such appropriation and use of them is an unlawful infringement. The infringement need not be a complete or exact copy. Paraphrasing or copying with evasion is an infringement, even though there may be little or no conceivable identity between the two. 13 Corpus Juris, 1109. As pointed out in West Publishing Co. v. Edward Thompson Co. (C. C.) 169 F. 833, the test is whether the one charged with the infringement has made an independent production, or made a substantial and unfair use of the complainant's work. See Hartford Printing Co. v. Hartford Directory & Publishing Co. (C. C.) 146 F. 332. A copyright protects the exclusive use of a theme presented in an original, with novelty of treatment or embellishment. Roe-Lawton v. Hal E. Roach Studios et al. (D. C.) 18 F.(2d) 126. An old plot may not be copyrighted, but a new treatment of an old plot may be. Fred Fisher, Inc., v. Dillingham (D. C.) 298 F. 145. An old plot, which creates new characters, scenes, and events, may be copyrighted. Stephens v. Howells Sales Co. (D. C.) 16 F.(2d) 805. And as stated in Bachman v. Belasco (C. C. A.) 224 F. 817, the paramount question is whether the similarities existing between the copyright and the infringing literary effort are such as indicate a piracy.

The appellant here, not only uses the underlying theme of the lectures, but treats the ideas and topics in the same way. He used identical associations and key words, and makes it inconceivable that he does so without copying appellee's copyrighted work. The works of both parties are lectures for oral delivery, addressed to persons interested in the improvement of memory, such as salesmen and those concerned with business efficiency. They take about the same length of time for delivery, appeal to the same kind of audience, involve oral co-operation by members of the audience with the lecturer, and involve colloquies between them. Pictures are exhibited to the audience, and tests of memory are made during the lectures. The substance of both, when compared, shows no originality in the appellant's effort or appropriation, but the subject-matter is treated and discussed with the same manner of approach in arousing interest, allaying scepticism, illustrations and stories to illustrate and emphasize certain important principles, and, indeed, some of the language used to convey the subject-matter to the audience is in the same phrase. The topics considered in both are the remembering of names and faces; the use of key words and their association with items and facts to be remembered; also an association of key words with numbers used in connected stories, business affairs, or salesmanship. They show the same method of general treatment. They show the inability of the audience to remember a list of words, or to associate names with faces; both illustrate that the lecturer himself is able to do what the members of the audience cannot do. Both teach 15 key words, and fix these words in the minds of the members of the audience by teaching a connected, coherent key word story, associating these words with a similar number of errands to be attended to during the day. The copyrighted lectures, given with an illustration of the key word filing system, and then the memory of names and faces, are taken up. The order is reversed by the appellant. This colorable...