Kienitz v. Sconnie Nation LLC

• Decision Date: 15 August 2013
• Docket Number: No. 12–cv–464–slc.,12–cv–464–slc.
• Parties: Michael KIENITZ, Plaintiff, v. SCONNIE NATION LLC, and Underground Printing–Wisconsin, L.L.C., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Wisconsin

965 F.Supp.2d 1042

Michael KIENITZ, Plaintiff,

v.SCONNIE NATION LLC, and Underground Printing–Wisconsin, L.L.C., Defendants.

No. 12–cv–464–slc.

United States District Court,

W.D. Wisconsin.

Aug. 15, 2013.

James Donald Peterson, Jennifer Lynn Gregor, Godfrey & Kahn, S.C., Madison, WI, for Plaintiff.

Eric Joseph Hatchell, Foley & Lardner LLP, Jeffrey Allan Simmons, Madison, WI, for Defendant.

OPINION AND ORDER

STEPHEN L. CROCKER, United States Magistrate Judge.

In this civil action for copyright infringement, plaintiff Michael Kienitz alleges that defendants Sconnie Nation LLC and Underground Printing–Wisconsin, LLC infringed his copyright in the Official Portrait of Mayor Paul Soglin by using the photograph on t-shirts and tank tops manufactured, promoted and sold in connection with the 2012 Mifflin Street Block Party in Madison, Wisconsin. Before the court are the parties' cross motions for summary judgment on the issue of whether defendants' use of the photograph was a fair use permitted by the Copyright Act. Dkts. 13 and 16.¹ Because the parties agree on the material facts, they ask the court to decide their dispute as a matter of law. See Harper & Row Publishers, Inc. v. Nation Enterprises, 471 U.S. 539, 560, 105 S.Ct. 2218, 85 L.Ed.2d 588 (1985) (where material facts not in dispute, fair use appropriately decided on summary judgment). After balancing the relevant factors, I conclude that defendants have met their burden with respect to the affirmative defense of fair use and are entitled to summary judgment on Kienitz's copyright infringement claim.

Pursuant to the parties' stipulation (dkt. 10), the following material facts are undisputed:

FACTS

I. The Parties

Plaintiff Michael Kienitz is a journalist and photographer who resides in Madison, Wisconsin. Since the 1980s, Kienitz has covered violent conflict around the world, and his photographs have been published in Life, Time, Newsweek, and other major publications worldwide. A collection of his war photography was published in a 2007 book titled Small Arms: Children of Conflict. Kienitz's photographs include one of “Lady Liberty” on frozen Lake Mendota and another of 2,000 plastic flamingos on Bascom Hill at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. These two photographs have been published, under license from Kienitz, in numerous magazines and newspapers.

Defendant Sconnie Nation LLC (Sconnie) is a Wisconsin limited liability company in the business of developing retail apparel products, including novelty t-shirts, and managing the “Sconnie” brand via various licensing arrangements.

Defendant Underground Printing–Wisconsin, LLC (Underground) is a Wisconsin limited liability company that is in the business of apparel retail, custom screen printing, and promotional products. Underground operates a retail store at 521 State Street in Madison, Wisconsin, at which it sells novelty t-shirts and apparel. Underground also sells products through websites, such as www. sconnie. com and www. wiscrelic. com. Underground has a licensing agreement with Sconnie, which consults with Underground regarding the development of t-shirts and other products. Underground supervises the actual production and sale of the t-shirts and products.

II. Kienitz's Licensing Practices

For more than 40 years, Kienitz has earned a living gathering and producing original journalism and photographs. Part of his income is derived from licensing his photographs, which sometimes produce licensing income long after their creation and first publication. The Lady Liberty and flamingo photographs were licensed many times, and a 1975 portrait of Paul Soglin was licensed for the 1999 book, Frank Lloyd Wright's Monona Terrace: The Enduring Power of Civic Vision, by David V. Mollenhoff.

When licensing his photos, Kienitz generally knows the details of how the photos will be used. The price that he charges for a license is contingent on the use of the photographing because he wants control over the way his photos are used. Kienitz has denied requests for licenses to his photos when he did not approve of the intended use of the photo. For example, Kienitz denied a request from a sandwich shop to use his “Lady Liberty” photograph in advertising because the sandwich shop wanted to use a version of the photograph featuring a sandwich in place of Lady Liberty's torch.

In the past, Kienitz has licensed photos through stock photo agencies. ² Therefore, he would not have known all the expressive purposes for which a particular photograph could have been or was used when licensed through a photo agency. To his knowledge, Kienitz has never licensed one of his photos for the purpose of criticizing, mocking, parodying, or satirizing the subject of the photo. Kienitz is aware of one instance in which a licensee used a photograph in a manner that was derogatory to or critical of the subject of the photo. Had Kienitz known his licensee intended to use his photograph for that derogatory or critical purpose, however, he would not have licensed the photograph to that licensee.

III. Kienitz's Photograph of Soglin

Kienitz photographed Mayor Soglin, his family, and his staff on April 19, 2011 at the mayoral inauguration ceremony. These photographs were the culmination of Kienitz's documentation of the 2011 Soglin campaign, which began the day Soglin announced that he was going to run for mayor.

After the April 2011 inauguration ceremony, Mayor Soglin's office contacted Kienitz to obtain and use a photograph of Mayor Soglin. Kienitz sent Mayor Soglin's office a group of photographs that he took during the 2011 campaign. The mayor's office chose a photograph that Kienitz had taken at the April 19, 2011 inauguration ceremony. See Soglin photo, dkt. 10, Exh. A, shown here:

IMAGE

Kienitz verbally gave permission for Mayor Soglin to use the photograph for any noncommercial purposes he desired, and for his staff to use the photograph in connection with Mayor Soglin's political activities and for noncommercial uses by news organizations. Kienitz did not place any other restrictions on their use of the photograph or charge Mayor Soglin or his staff a fee for using it. The Soglin photograph was displayed on the City of Madison's official website beginning on April 26, 2011. Effective May 1, 2012, Kienitz registered the photo, which he has titled the “Official Portrait of Mayor Paul Soglin,” with the U.S. Copyright Office, Registration No. VA 1–812–155.

At all times relevant to this dispute, the City of Madison website included the visible notation “photo credit” in the lower right corner of the photograph. If an internet user hovers his or her mouse over the photograph on the website, a full photo credit pops up stating: “Photo Credit: Michael Kienitz.” The City of Madison website has never included a statutory copyright notice for the photo.

IV. The Mifflin Street Block Party

The Mifflin Street Block Party is an annual event that began in May 1969 as part of the student protest movement on the UW–Madison campus. At that time, Paul Soglin was a student protest leader at UW–Madison and a Madison alder. Soglin attended the first Mifflin Street Block Party and was arrested at the event. In 1972, Soglin was elected mayor of Madison and over the course of the next 40 years, he has served as mayor for more than 15 years during three separate periods.

In a September 10, 2011 interview with The New York Times, Soglin said of his participation in and arrest at that first Block Party: “There was an underlying theme of taking a sharp stick ... and poking it in the eye of authority.” The article stated: “Mr. Soglin acknowledges that he has grown to favor ‘a sense of order.’ That was not exactly a central theme during his protest days, and it causes some amusement among plenty of free-spirited young people.” The New York Times article quoted Madison Common Council member Mike Verveer as saying, “It's a little ironic, since it was the student vote that originally got Paul elected.”

Soglin was Madison's mayor at the time of the 2012 Mifflin Street Block Party, which had become a controversial event subject to significant political debate in Madison. Following the block party in 2011, the Wisconsin State Journal quoted Mayor Soglin when asked about the future of the event, as declaring, “All I'm interested in is ending this thing.” Shortly after the 2011 party, an Underground employee suggested that Sconnie and Underground should sell a shirt in 2012, criticizing in a humorous manner Mayor Soglin's opposition to the block party.

V. The “Sorry For Partying” Shirt

In March 2012, with controversy beginning to percolate over the upcoming May 5, 2012 block party, Sconnie and Underground decided to create and sell t-shirts and tank tops with the phrase “Sorry For Partying.” In order to make the target of their commentary clear, Sconnie and Underground sought a recognizable image of Mayor Soglin to reproduce on the shirt. After a quick internet search, they found the Soglin portrait on the City of Madison's official internet website, www. cityofmadison. com.

A small version of this photograph appears on the homepage, and a larger version is prominently displayed on the “Mayor” page. The photograph also was displayed, and continues to be displayed, on the home page for Mayor Soglin's internet blog, www. waxingamerica. com. The blog website is operated by Mayor Soglin's campaign committee. Sconnie and Underground discovered that the photograph also was displayed, and continues to be displayed, on Mayor Soglin's Facebook profile.

Underground, in consultation with Sconnie, downloaded a digital copy of Kienitz's Soglin photograph from the City of Madison website. Underground altered the photograph so that Mayor Soglin's face is lime green against black, outlined in bright blue and wreathed on three sides with the phrase “Sorry For Partying,” in alternating blue, green and pink spike-fonted lettering. Here's an example:

IMAGE

Underground screen-printed...