Copyright Infringement Plaintiff's Failure To Notify Register Of Copyrights Of Her Suit, Although Mandatory, Was Not Jurisdictional And Was Not Required When Register Was On Actual Notice
BROOKS-NGWENYA v. INDIANAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS (April 15, 2009)
While a classroom assistant in the Indianapolis Public School system ("IPS"), Angela Brooks-Ngwenya developed a program she called Transitioning Into Responsible Students (“TIRS”). When IPS did not offer Brooks-Ngwenya a permanent job, she brought suit for race discrimination. She and IPS settled the suit in 2004. She later brought a second suit, alleging that IPS infringed her copyright in TIRS, to which she added a claim for employment discrimination. The district court granted summary judgment to IPS. Brooks-Ngwenya appeals.
In their opinion, Judges Posner, Williams and Tinder affirmed. The Court first addressed the issue of copyright registration. The district court granted summary judgment to IPS because the Copyright Office had rejected Brooks-Ngwenya's application for trademark registration. Federal law requires a rejected applicant to notify the Register of Copyrights when suing for infringement. Brooks-Ngwenya presented no evidence that she had given such notice. The Court concluded that the notice requirement was, although not jurisdictional, a prerequisite to suit. Given that the Register was aware of the suit, the Court concluded that no purpose would be served by insisting on notification and proceeded to the merits. The Court held that Brooks-Ngwenya’s copyright claim must fail because she could not show that IPS used any of her words or materials, only possibly her idea. As for the discrimination claim, the Court had no difficulty in affirming the district court. The party’s earlier dismissal barred the claim.
