On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Mark Norris of the Western District of Tennessee endorsed the magistrate judge’s July 30 recommendation in Johnson v. Hall:
Johnson sued alleging multiple claims tied to the Defendants’ television series “P-Valley,” which she contends “directly appropriated” her autobiography “Pussy Valley.” In her account, the memoir describes her life as an exotic dancer, including her upbringing in Memphis’s Graves Manor Projects, colloquially termed “Pussy Valley.” She allegedly “shared and discussed” the memoir with Katori Hall, who, “in collaboration with Defendants Starz Entertainment and Lions Gate Entertainment, developed and produced the television series ‘P-Valley.'”
The magistrate judge recommended that Johnson’s right of publicity and unjust enrichment claims be dismissed as preempted by the Copyright Act:
The autobiography… qualifies as a literary work that “falls within the range of materials protected by the Copyright Act.” … The Sixth Circuit applies a “functional test” to determine equivalency, which “asks whether the state claim seeks to protect rights similarly protected by the Copyright Act.” …
As Starz correctly asserts, [the right of publicity and unjust enrichment] claims are based on allegations that Starz “misappropriated [Johnson’s] identity, life story, and creative expression for commercial gain without consent” and “profit[ed] from [her] life story without compensation.” Based on these allegations, each cause of action depends on Starz’s alleged use of Johnson’s original autobiography without her permission or without compensation. “As unauthorized publication is a core and exclusive right safeguarded by the Copyright Act,” the Court agrees that Johnson’s statutory right-of-publicity and unjust-enrichment claims are preempted by the Copyright Act.
The judge also recommended that the court reject Johnson’s invasion of privacy claim (to oversimplify slightly):
Johnson … does not allege that Defendants’ conduct was offensive to persons of ordinary sensibilities. In fact, she does not allege that Defendants’ conduct was offensive at all. She merely accuses Defendants of appropriating her “autobiography and life story.”
And the judge recommended the same as to Johnson’s defamation and false light claims:
Johnson has also failed to state a claim of defamation. As Starz correctly notes, “she does not claim (or support with plausibly alleged facts) that the alleged depiction of her in P-Valley is provably false or how it is false; and she does not allege that (or how) the series damages her reputation.”
Robb S. Harvey and Todd Ryan Hambidge (Holland & Knight LLP) and David Halberstadter and Asena Baran (Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP) represent defendants.
