Criminal Plea Bargain Leads to Civil Liability for Infringement
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010Yash Raj Films (USA), Inc. v. Daljit Singh Sidhu, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25988 (E.D. Cal. 2010)
Plaintiff has the right to distribute Indian films in the United States. Defendant admitted to copyright infringement in a criminal suit as to 4 of Plaintiff’s titles. Photographs of the infringing DVDs bore Plaintiff’s trademark. Plaintiff sought summary judgment as to infringement of 32 of plaintiff’s titles seized from Defendant as part of the criminal investigation based on defendant’s admissions. Defendant, in the civil action, denied infringement. The court granted summary judgment as to the 4 titles identified in the plea bargain and awarded plaintiff statutory damages and attorneys fees. (more…)
