In a recent decision in the case Great Bowery Inc. v. Consequence Sound LLC, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that a party with that had an exclusive license for some (but not all) rights in photographs taken by the renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz could bring suit for copyright infringement. The Eleventh Circuit, in an opinion authored by U.S. Circuit Judge Adalberto Jordan, explained that under the Copyright Act, ownership of an “exclusive right” may be divided and narrowly transferred, such that a copyright holder may still retain some rights while granting another party an exclusive license sufficient to confer standing under 17 U.S.C. § 501(b).
In so doing, the court rejected the district court’s reasoning that Leibovitz’s retention of limited collaboration rights automatically rendered Great Bowery’s license nonexclusive. Accordingly, the Eleventh Circuit vacated a summary judgment in favor of the alleged infringer and remanded for further proceedings.
Ultimately, this case supports the principle that exclusive licensees may have standing to enforce copyrighted works against infringers, even if they do not own or license all rights conferred under the Copyright Act.
