Case: Copyrights/Summary Judgment (2d Cir.)

The Second Circuit affirmed the decision of a federal district court in New York granting PepsiCo Inc. summary judgment on ad agency Betty Inc.'s action for copyright infringement and breach of contract based on a 2016 Super Bowl ad featuring singer Janelle Monae. Betty Inc. claimed that the ad infringed its pitch, but the Second Circuit ruled that the ad differed in significant ways from the pitch. And the court ruled that Betty Inc.'s contract claim failed because the company didn’t establish the existence of an agreement.