Garcia v. Google, Inc.

Garcia v. Google, Inc., 786 F.3d 733 (9th Cir. 2015), is an ongoing dispute that arose when Cindy Lee Garcia sued Google and its video-sharing website, YouTube, to have the controversial film, Innocence of Muslims, taken down from the site. A California district court denied Garcia's motion for preliminary injunction, but, on appeal, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the lower court's decision, ordered YouTube to take down all copies of Innocence of Muslims, and remanded the case to the district court for reconsideration.[1] In May 2015, in an en banc opinion, the Ninth Circuit reversed the panel's decision, vacating the order for the preliminary injunction.

Background

Garcia's participation in the film

In July 2011, Garcia auditioned for a film by writer and producer Mark Basseley Youssef, also known as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, with the working title Desert Warrior. A casting call described the film as "an HD 24P historical Arabian Desert adventure film," and Garcia was ultimately cast to play a minor role, that of a mother of a young woman who had been promised in marriage to the movie's protagonist.[2]

Lawsuit

District Court

Garcia asked Google to take down the film from YouTube on eight occasions pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.[1][3] After Google declined, Garcia sued the company on September 26, 2012, in federal district court in California.[7] She claimed that the film's continued existence on YouTube violated her copyright interest in her performance in the film. She applied to the court for a temporary restraining order to force Google to take down the film.[3]

The district court treated Garcia's application for a temporary restraining order as an application for a preliminary injunction. To succeed on a claim for preliminary injunction, Garcia had to show four factors: a likelihood that she would succeed on the merits of the copyright claim, the likelihood that irreparable harm will result if the court does not grant the injunction, and the balance of the equity to the parties and the public interest in granting or denying relief. The court denied the application "because Garcia had delayed in bringing the action, had failed to demonstrate 'that the requested preliminary relief would prevent any alleged harm' and was unlikely to succeed on the merits because she'd granted Youssef an implied license to use her performance in the film."[1]

In a declaration given by David Hardy, president of DMCA Solutions, YouTube's typical notice-and-counter-notice process is described. Hardy then shares his conversations with YouTube over the Innocence of Muslims video and characterizes YouTube's responses as purposeful delay tactics and feigning ignorance on copyright law[8]

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's decision denying Garcia a preliminary injunction, forcing Google to take down all copies of Innocence of Muslims from YouTube. The Ninth Circuit also remanded the case for retrial on the merits of Garcia's copyright claim.

Ninth Circuit opinion

The Ninth Circuit held that Garcia was entitled to a preliminary injunction because she was likely to succeed on the merits of her copyright claim. The court determined that Garcia likely owned an independent, copyrightable interest in her own performance in the film. Specifically, the court explained that Garcia's performance was "fixed" and that her "body language, facial expression and reactions to other actors and elements of a scene" constituted sufficient originality, both requirements of the Copyright Act of 1976. Further, the court concluded that Garcia never intended to be a "joint author," so Youssef had no co-ownership of her performance in the film.

Additionally, the court determined that Garcia was not an "employee" for purposes of transferring her ownership interest in her performance under the Copyright Act. The court pointed out that the term "employee" refers "to a hired party in a conventional employer relationship." According to the court, because "Youssef hired Garcia for a specific task, she only worked for three days and she claims she received no health or other traditional employment benefits" suggests that she was not an "employee" under the statute. Garcia never transferred her interest in writing, either.[1]

Ninth Circuit opinion

On November 12, 2014, the full Ninth Circuit voted to rehear the case en banc.[9] As part of that order, the court vacated its prior opinion, meaning that it can no longer be cited and is not binding on lower courts. The order has no effect on the injunction, meaning that Google still may not post the allegedly infringing portions of the film, at least for the time being.

Garcia v. Google, Inc.

Background

Garcia's participation in the film

International reaction to Innocence of Muslims

Lawsuit

District Court

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Ninth Circuit opinion

Ninth Circuit opinion

Reactions

Criticism

Flynn v. Google

Other sources

External links

References

court	United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
citations	786 F.3d 733
appealed from	District Court
appealed to	U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit