Zazzle's Insufficient Copyright Oversight Procedures Support Willful Infringement Finding

In a recent decision, the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court’s finding, as a matter of law and notwithstanding the jury’s verdict, that a defendant’s copyright infringement was not willful, but affirmed the district court’s refusal to award attorneys’ fees to the prevailing plaintiff (without prejudice to the plaintiff seeking reconsideration of this refusal on remand).

Plaintiff Greg Young Publishing, Inc. (“GYPI”) serves as the licensing agent for visual artists, including Kerne Erickson and Scott Westmoreland.  Zazzle is an online marketplace that allows a user to upload images and select them to appear on various consumer products (e.g., coffee mugs, posters, t-shirts, etc.) that are offered for sale to the public and, when ordered by a consumer, produced and delivered by Zazzle, after it pays a royalty to the uploading user.