Case: Copyrights/Similarity (9th Cir.)

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the decision of a federal district court in California dismissing an individual’s copyright infringement action against Showtime Networks Inc. and Showtime Digital Inc., alleging that the television series Penny Dreadful infringed on three original characters that she created as a member of an online role-playing forum called “Murder & Roses: Victorian London Crime and Scandals.” The appeals court affirmed the district court’s determination that the allegations were insufficient to plausibly infer copying, and that she failed to allege substantial similarity in protectable expression.