US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 12-56331, 9 januari 2014, Inhale v Starbuzz Tobacco.
Auteursrecht. "Affirming the district court’s grant of summary judgment and award of attorneys’ fees in favor of the defendant, the panel held that the shape of a hookah water container was not entitled to copyright protection.
The panel held that the hookah water container, a useful article, was not copyrightable because it did not incorporate culptural features that could be identified separately from, and were capable of existing independently of, the container’s utilitarian aspects. Adopting the reasoning of the Copyright Office, the panel held that whether an item’s shape is distinctive does not affect conceptual separability.
The panel also held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in awarding attorneys’ fees to the defendant under 17 U.S.C. § 505. The panel awarded attorneys’ fees for the appeal in an amount to be determined by the district court.
Concurring in part, Judge Bea wrote that he concurred with the majority’s opinion, except for the part of Part II.C that discusses the level of deference owed to the Copyright Office’s interpretations of the Copyright Office. Judge Bea wrote that because the statute was not ambiguous, it was unnecessary to look to the Copyright Office for further guidance."
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