Sawyer v. Crowell Pub. Co.

• Decision Date: 30 April 1942
• Citation: 46 F. Supp. 471
• Parties: SAWYER v. CROWELL PUB. CO.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

46 F. Supp. 471

SAWYER v. CROWELL PUB. CO.

District Court, S. D. New York.

April 30, 1942.

Myers & Guerin, of New York City (Joseph K. Guerin, of New York City, of counsel), for plaintiff.

Moynihan & McKeown, of New York City (Arthur Moynihan, of New York City, of counsel), for defendant.

MANDELBAUM, District Judge.

This is a copyright infringement suit.

In March of 1929, plaintiff was appointed to the post of Executive Assistant to the Secretary of Interior and received a salary from the Government in this capacity. In the summer of 1929, he was sent to Alaska on a government mission. On his return, he contacted one Wilbur S. Wills, employed as a cadastral engineer in the Division of Surveys, Department of Interior, since 1911. Discussions between the two were had regarding a Great Circle Map which plaintiff wanted to have made. Both plaintiff and Wills worked on the details for several months (Wills doing most of the physical work). Wills used materials furnished by the Government, as well as its other facilities such as scientific information which was on file with the Division of Surveys. The Great Circle Map was completed and then printed and engraved by the United States Geological Survey, a division of the Department of Interior, devoted to the printing of maps. Plaintiff thereupon copyrighted the map on April 22, 1930. This map was entitled "Great Circle Map showing Fairbanks, Alaska, a Geographical Center of Europe, Asia and America" (Plaintiff's Exhibit "1" hereinafter called copyrighted map). Also, on this map appeared the legend "Data obtained from official sources, computations on this map verified by the General Land Office".

Pursuant to an Act of Congress of May 15, 1930, 46 Stat. 335 a Commission was created for a study regarding the construction of a highway to connect the North-western part of the United States with British Columbia, Yukon Territory and Alaska. Plaintiff was appointed as one of three Commissioners. At that time he was still Executive Assistant to the Secretary of Interior, and remained as such until the Spring of 1933.

On February 1, 1931, plaintiff's map which he had originally copyrighted on April 22, 1930, was republished and to which was added eleven red lines showing the mileage distances between certain of the cities located on the said map. This map was entitled "Great Circle Map showing Fairbanks, Alaska, a Geographical Center of Europe, Asia, America and the Terminus of the Pacific Yukon Highway Map. No. 8" (Defendant's Exhibit "B"). The plaintiff did not secure a copyright registration for the additional matter added to the one copyrighted on April 22, 1930.

The Highway Commission, by permission of the plaintiff, caused to be printed by the United States Geological Survey 10,000 copies of Map No. 8. The printing expense was paid by the Commission.

A government publication entitled "General Information regarding the Territory of Alaska" edition of June, 1931, was printed by the United States Department of Interior. On page 107 thereof, there appears the heading "Department of Interior Publication Relating to Alaska" and on the list that follows appears the title "Great Circle Map showing Fairbanks, the Center of Europe, Asia and America, Map No. 8".

The defendant printed and published an issue of "Collier's, the National Weekly" for December 4, 1937, which on Page 12 thereof contained a map entitled "Great Circle Map showing Fairbanks, Alaska, a Geographical Center of Europe, Asia and America" (Plaintiff's Exhibit "2"). The defendant concedes that the map which appears in Collier's is a copy of portions of plaintiff's republished map of February 1, 1931 — Map No. 8 (Defendant's Exhibit "B").

Plaintiff makes no claim against the defendant with respect to his republished Map No. 8. The charge of infringement relates solely to his copyrighted map. In other words, no claim is made against the defendant for having copied the additional matter contained in the republished copy of February 1, 1931.

The defenses to this suit may be placed in two categories. As to the first, it is submitted that plaintiff at the time of the preparation of the copyrighted map, as well as Map No. 8, was an employee of the Department of Interior and that any property right that may exist in the map belongs to the United States; that any copyright issued to the plaintiff would be in trust for the United States Government; that Map No. 8 from which defendant concededly copied is a Government publication, having been prepared by the United States Department of Interior and therefore not subject to copyright.

The second deals with the actual claim of infringement. As to this, it is contended that the plaintiff's copyright, even if valid, does not extend to the material added to the republished map; that the map published in Collier's contains this additional matter; that the map published in Collier's does not infringe plaintiff's copyrighted map.

It is true that the mere fact that one has created or invented something while in the employ of the government does not transfer to it any title to or interest in it. Solomon v. United States, 137 U.S. 342, 11 S.Ct. 88, 34...