Feltner v. Columbia Pictures Television, Inc.

Feltner v. Columbia Pictures Television, Inc.
Argued January 21, 1998
Decided March 31, 1998
Full case nameC. Elvin Feltner, Jr., Petitioner v. Columbia Pictures Television, Incorporated
Citations523 U.S. 340 (more)
118 S. Ct. 1279; 140 L. Ed. 2d 438; 1998 U.S. LEXIS 2301; 66 U.S.L.W. 4245; 46 U.S.P.Q.2d (BNA) 1161; Copy. L. Rep. (CCH) ¶ 27,752; 163 A.L.R. Fed. 721; 26 Media L. Rep. 1513; 98 Cal. Daily Op. Service 2324; 98 Daily Journal DAR 3175; 1998 Colo. J. C.A.R. 1542; 11 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 417
Case history
PriorColumbia Pictures Television, Inc. v. Krypton Broad. of Birmingham, Inc., 106 F.3d 284 (9th Cir. 1997); cert. granted, 521 U.S. 1151 (1997).
SubsequentRemanded, Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. vs. Krypton Broadcasting of Birmingham, Inc., 152 F.3d 1171 (9th Cir. 1998).
Holding
There is no statutory right to a jury trial under the Copyright Act, but the Seventh Amendment requires jury trials as the standard practice in copyright cases; therefore, an order denying a jury trial on damages violates the Seventh Amendment.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
David Souter · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
MajorityThomas, joined by Rehnquist, Stevens, O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer
ConcurrenceScalia
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. VII, Copyright Act § 504(c)

Feltner v. Columbia Pictures Television, Inc., 523 U.S. 340 (1998), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that if there is to be an award of statutory damages in a copyright infringement case, then the opposing party has the right to demand a jury trial.