Kelly v. University Press of Mississippi, 16-cv-02960 (C.D. Cal.)
On August 16, 2016, United States District Judge Percy Anderson issued an order dismissing an action for copyright infringement brought by Patricia Ward Kelly, the surviving spouse of film and stage star Eugene “Gene” Kelly, against the University Press of Mississippi and Kelli Marshall, a cinema studies professor at DePaul University, because the action is premature, and not ripe for judicial decision.
The Court considered Ms. Kelly’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction, and Marshall’s (joined by University Press) Motion to Dismiss. The Court did not consider the merits of Ms. Kelly’s copyright claim, instead dispensing of the case on a jurisdictional basis. The Court articulated the rule for ripeness as set forth in Article III of the U.S. Constitution, distinguishing between issues that are speculative and those that are appropriate for judicial adjudication.
Ms. Kelly brought an action against Marshall and University Press as the copyright holder of Gene Kelly’s estate. Marshall, who curates the website genekellyfans.com, is in the process of researching and writing a biography of Kelly, and she reached out to Ms. Kelly to inquire about the copyright status of certain interviews Mr. Kelly had given during his lifetime. Ms. Kelly informed Marshall that she was the holder of the copyright, and that Marshall would need her express authorization to utilize the interviews. However, Marshall previously received permission from a third-party publisher that held the licenses for some of the interviews to use the material in her book, so she decided to proceed with her book without obtaining Ms. Kelly’s consent. Ms. Kelly sent multiple cease-and-desist letters to both Marshall and University Press, but to no avail. Ms. Kelly then filed suit.
A copy of the court’s order dismissing the case is available here.