Herbert Resenthal Jewelry Corp. v. Kalpakian, 446 F.2d 738 (1971) p.437

SUBJECT

copyright infringement

FACTS

Plaintiff sued alleging a copyright infringement of a bumblebee pin. Plaintiff charged defendants with infringing plaintiff's copyright registration of a pin in the shape of a bee formed of gold encrusted with jewels.

PROCEDURE

A consent decree was entered, including an injinction against infringing the plaintiff's copyright. The plaintiff later moved for an order holding defendants in contempt.

ISSUE

Whether there was a copyright infringement of the bumblebee pin.

RULE

When the idea and the expression cannot be separated there can be no copyright.

HOLDING

No copyright violation because there was not substantial similarity of the copyrighted expression.

RATIONAL

Putting a bee in a pin with diamonds around it is an idea. The arrangement of the diamonds was similiar. A copyright bars use of particular expression of an idea in a copyrighted work byt does not bar the use of the idea itself. Pthers are free to utilize the idea so long as they do not plagiarize its expression.

Created on: Tuesday, September 28, 1999 at 19:44:02 (PDT)