Arnstein was a songwriter who
had published a number of popular songs. He claimed that another
songwriter named Porter had plagiarized some of his songs. He sued for copyright
infringement.
Arnstein argued that Porter
had 'stooges' fooling Arnstein around and had even ransacked his
apartment and stole some of his unpublished songs!
Porter argued that he had
never heard any of Arnstein's songs and that he came up with his songs
himself (aka independent creation).
The Trial Court found for
Porter in summary judgment. Arnstein appealed.
The Trial Court found that
Porter's songs were not substantially similar.
The Court relied on the
testimony of expert witnesses about the similarity of the songs.
The Appellate Court reversed
and remanded.
The Appellate Court found
that generally, there are two elements to establishing infringement:
There must be evidence that
the defendant had access to the
copyrighted work.
There must be evidence that
the works are substantially similar.
The Court found that whether
two songs were substantially similar
enough to constitute copyright infringement was a matter of fact for a jury to decide.
