Alma Mater Unlawfully Uses Work of Accomplished Alum
On June 23, 2023, Attorney Clayborne E. Chavers (“Chavers”) filed a Complaint against Howard University (“Howard University” or “Howard” or the “University”) for copyright infringement.
According to his complaint Chavers is a nationally renowned "Preeminent AV Rated" attorney and leader in the fields of arts & entertainment law and civil rights, corporate diversity, and inclusion. He received both his undergraduate and law degrees from Howard University. Chavers has served as “the first chair of the Arts, Entertainment, and Sports Law section of the National Bar Association” and has taught at numerous universities including Georgetown, William & Mary, and Temple.
Through his experience and extensive knowledge of entertainment and business law, Chavers decided to develop and author a model for a “unique and proprietary interdisciplinary Arts and Entertainment Business Legal Clinic (the “Clinic”)". He received two Copyright Registrations for his works concerning the Clinic in 2014.
Chavers approached the leadership and faculty of Howard University and presented ideas for starting a Clinic program at Howard. He provided them with copyrighted copies of proposals for the Clinic. Chavers’ idea received approval and support, including that of the President of Howard as well as the dean of the law school. However, after his presentation, no one from the University followed up with Attorney Chavers about starting the Clinic at Howard, leading him to believe that the University had decided not to move forward with the Clinic.
Years later, however, Attorney Chavers discovered that “Howard had not dismissed, declined, or disregarded” his proposal but instead had decided to move forward with and implement the Clinic without him. The Howard Entertainment Clinic began in 2019 and incorporated many aspects of Chavers’ copyrighted Clinic proposal. The University had never asked permission to use the work of Chavers, who attempted to communicate on several occasions with the university to resolve these issues without a lawsuit. However, Howard has allegedly refused to answer him. After several unsuccessful attempts to work with Howard, Chavers filed a Complaint against the University. He is seeking statutory damages, injunctive relief, and a royalty imposed for using his copyrighted works.
This is an ongoing case. We will provide updates as they are made available.