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Copyright Blog

Basketball Infringement Case Still Being Dribbled

Discovery Moves Forward in Copyright Dispute between Syracuse University and Photographer after Mediation Failed to Resolve the Case

In a post on September 16, 2019 and in an earlier post, we reported on a case wherein photographer James Bass ("Bass") sued Syracuse University ("the University") for copyright infringement.

Bass's Complaint asserts that he is a professional photographer who customarily licenses his photographs for a fee. He claims that he took photographs of the University's basketball team and licensed them to the University soley for use on social media. The University, however, proceeded to use the photos on tickets, billboards, and programs.

Photo by MattCC716 on flickr. CC BY-SA 2.0.

While Bass alleges that the University use constitutes copyright infringement, entitling him to damages and to the profits that the University gained from the use, the University's answer to his complaint denies most of his allegations. The University only admits that Bass filed suit, that Bass's jurisdictional assertions are correct, and that Bass took photos of the men's basketball team. The University also raises multiple affirmative defenses including failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, possession of a license, lack of damages, good faith, waiver, laches, estoppel, and more.

A Uniform Pretrial Scheduling Order was filed on August `13, 2019, that laid out the expected schedule of the case. The schedule includes a discovery period leading up to a trial-ready date of May 29, 2020, provided that no dispositive motions have been made before then.

On August 13, 2019, the Court also ordered that the parties arrange to participate in a mandatory mediation program. However, the case's docket reveals that by the end of October, this attempt at alternative dispute resolution was completed without the case settling. On October 11, 2019, the Court entered, at the University's request, a Stipulated Protective Order to guide the discovery of sensitive and confidential information.

If the pretrial schedule holds true, this case should be ready for trial. Updates will be provided as they become available.