Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. v. Comicmix LLC

How courts have described this case

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

• emphasizing that the defendant did not “address a crucial right for a copyright holder – the derivative works market”
• explaining that, while a work’s unpublished status would weigh against fair use, “the converse is not necessarily true”
• applying Rogers to the use of “Seussian font” and “Seussian style of illustration” in a comic book
• noting, where the defendants published a Star Trek-themed book in the style of Dr. Seuss, that fourth factor weighed in favor of Dr. Seuss’s publisher in part, and “[c]rucially,” because the publisher often licensed its work for derivative uses
• “We 27 are cautious not to overzealously decompose visual expression into its abstract, and thus 1 permissible.”
• “[T]he unrestricted and widespread conduct of the sort ComicMix is engaged in could result in anyone being able to produce” their own similar derivative works based on Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).

Cited by

6 cases in this archive cite this case.

• The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Lynn Goldsmith, Et
  Second Circuit· 2021-03-26· cited 32×
• Punchbowl, Inc. v. Aj Press, LLC
  Ninth Circuit· 2024-01-12· cited 13×
• Elliot McGucken v. Pub Ocean Limited
  Ninth Circuit· 2022-08-03· cited 2×
• Whyte Monkee Productions v. Netflix
  Tenth Circuit· 2024-03-27· cited 1×
• Andy Warhol Found. for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith
  Second Circuit· 2021-08-24
• Whyte Monkee Productions v. Netflix
  Tenth Circuit· 2026-04-30

Cites

25 cases in this archive are cited by this case; the 20 most cited are listed.

• Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc. v. Nation Enterprises
  Supreme Court· 1985-05-20· cited 1,191×
• Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc.
  Supreme Court· 1984-01-17· cited 978×
• Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.
  Supreme Court· 1994-03-07· cited 629×
• Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon. Com, Inc.
  Ninth Circuit· 2007-12-03· cited 333×
• Knitwaves, Inc., Plaintiff-Appellee-Cross-Appellant v. Lollytogs Ltd. (Inc.) D/B/A French Toast, Defendant-Appellant-Cross-Appellee
  Second Circuit· 1995-11-13· cited 330×
• Ginger Rogers v. Alberto Grimaldi, Mgm/ua Entertainment Co., and Pea Produzioni Europee Associate, S.R.L.
  Second Circuit· 1989-05-05· cited 311×
• Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. v. Carol Publishing Group, Inc., Defendant-Cross Claimant-Appellant, Beth B. Golub, Defendant-Cross
  Second Circuit· 1998-07-10· cited 296×
• Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. v. Penguin Books Usa, Inc., a Corporation Dove Audio, Inc., a Corporation
  Ninth Circuit· 1997-03-27· cited 203×
• Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc.
  Ninth Circuit· 2002-07-24· cited 167×
• Folsom v. Marsh
  U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Massachusetts· 1841-10-15· cited 150×
• Bateman v. Mnemonics, Inc.
  Eleventh Circuit· 1996-03-22· cited 126×
• Blanch v. Koons
  Second Circuit· 2006-10-26· cited 126×
• Suntrust Bank, as Trustee of the Stephen Mitchell Trusts F.B.O. Eugene Muse Mitchell and Joseph Reynolds Mitchell v. Houghton Mifflin Company
  Eleventh Circuit· 2001-10-10· cited 109×
• James Brown v. Electronic Arts, Inc.
  Ninth Circuit· 2013-07-31· cited 106×
• Patrick Cariou v. Richard Prince
  Second Circuit· 2013-04-25· cited 85×
• Stephanie Lenz v. Universal Music Corp.
  Ninth Circuit· 2016-03-17· cited 61×
• Noelia Monge v. Maya Magazines, Inc.
  Ninth Circuit· 2012-08-14· cited 59×
• E.S.S. Entertainment 2000, Inc. v. Rock Star Videos, Inc.
  Ninth Circuit· 2008-11-05· cited 54×
• Los Angeles News Service Robert Tur v. CBS Broadcasting, Inc. Courtroom Television Network
  Ninth Circuit· 2002-09-16· cited 46×
• SOFA Entertainment, Inc. v. Dodger Productions, Inc.
  Ninth Circuit· 2013-03-11· cited 43×

Other cases named Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. v. Comicmix LLC

1 other CourtListener record shares this case name.

• Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. v. ComicMix LLC
  S.D. California· 2017-06-09· cited 2×