Decisions Roundup: Disney Wins Dismissal of Copyright Claim Based on False Testimony

Posted by Matthew Heller

Case: Shangold v. Walt Disney Co.

Court: 2nd Circuit

Date: April 26, 2008 (unpublished)

Facts: Writers Judith Shangold and Ronnie Niederman alleged that the Michael Chabon novel "Summerland," published by Disney subsidiary Miramax Books, is a ripoff of their revised treatment of an idea for a children's cartoon called "Starmond the Wizard." A trial judge dismissed their copyright infringement case, finding they had perpetrated a fraud in deposition testimony related to the so-called T1a treatment.

Holding: The treatment referred to a character's "Palm Pilot," but Disney established that the manufacturer did not call the handheld computing device by that name until late 1995 and "The name was not known to the public until early 1996 -– months after Shangold and Niederman claimed to have written the treatment." While dismissal is a harsh sanction, it is appropriate for the plaintiffs' "willfulness and bad faith."

Attorneys of Record: Judith Shangold and Ronnie Niederman pro se; Sanford Litvack, Hogan & Hartson, New York, for Disney.

To view the opinion, click here.