Ninth Circuit· 5/21/2002

Cavalier v. Random House, Inc.

Citations

297 F.3d 815
62 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1946
2002 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 4363
2002 Daily Journal DAR 5593
2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 9554

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

holding that works’ setting in the “night sky ... naturally and necessarily flows from the basic plot premise of a child’s journey through the night sky; therefore, the night sky setting constitutes a [scene á faire] and cannot support a finding of substantial similarity”
noting that general plot ideas, familiar stock scenes, situations or incidents that flow naturally from a basic plot premise, etc., are not protected by copyright law
finding as unprotectable “the general premise of a child, invited by a moon-type character, who takes a journey through the night sky and returns safely to bed to fall asleep”
finding no triable issue of fact on the issue of whether parties' works were substantially similar under the extrinsic test where, inter alia , the works differed \markedly\ in dialogue
“[T]his setting naturally and necessarily flows from the basic plot premise ... [and] therefore ... constitutes scenes-a-faire and cannot support a finding of substantial similarity”
“Scenes-a-faire, or situations and incidents that flow necessarily or naturally from a basic plot premise, cannot sustain a finding of infringement.”

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27 cases in this archive cite this case; the 20 most cited are listed.

Cites

16 cases in this archive are cited by this case.

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