Itar-Tass Russian News Agency v. Russian Kurier, Inc. - 153 F.3d 82 (2d Cir. 1998)

Rule:

An author who is a national of one of the member states of either the Berne Convention, 17 U.S.C.S. § 101, or the Universal Copyright Convention, or one who first publishes his work in any such member state, is entitled to the same copyright protection in each other member state as such other state accords to its own nationals.

Facts:

Appellant U.S. newspaper publisher republished articles within the United States from articles published in Russian newspapers, without the consent of appellees, Russian newspapers, newspaper compilation services, news reporters, and news reporter's union. Appellees brought suit against appellant for violations of Russian copyright infringement. The trial court found appellant had committed violations, awarded damages, and enjoined appellant from further publications. Appellant challenged the ruling.

Issue:

Did the Russian copyright law apply to the present case?

Answer:

Yes.

Conclusion:

The court held that under the Berne Convention, 17 U.S.C.S. § 101, Russian copyright law applied as the choice of law. The court stated that appellant Russian newspapers did not have standing to file suit against appellant's publication of individual articles, because only the newspaper compilation services, the individual Russian reporters, and its union could assert violations of appellant's publications. However, the court stated that appellee Russian newspapers could sue for violations of their newspapers as a whole. The court affirmed the trial court's finding of violations as to the appellees that had standing, and remanded for further proceedings.