Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit.
No. 2:16-cv-10728—Avern Cohn, District Judge.
Decided and Filed: November 23, 2020
Before: DAUGHTREY, DONALD, and READLER, Circuit Judges.
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OPINION
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BERNICE BOUIE DONALD, Circuit Judge. This is a copyright dispute over the use of
software code and technical drawings for an industrial control system related to plastic injection
molding. The district court held that Plaintiff-Appellant RJ Control Consultants, Inc. and its sole
shareholder, Paul Rogers, (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) failed to establish copyright infringement
because the use of a design to manufacture a control system does not constitute copyright
infringement. The district court accordingly granted summary judgment against Plaintiffs on
their copyright infringement claim. The district court further granted summary judgment against
Plaintiffs as to their Lanham Act claim, declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the
remaining state law claims, and denied as moot Plaintiffs’ motion to compel discovery.
Plaintiffs appeal the order denying reconsideration of the district court’s grant of summary
judgment as to the copyright claim as well as the denial of their motion to compel as moot.
. . .
For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM the district court’s grant of summary judgment
with respect to the copyright infringement claim related to the technical drawings, REVERSE
the district court’s grant of summary judgment with respect to the copyright infringement claim
related to the software code, and VACATE IN PART and AFFIRM IN PART the district
court’s denial of the motion to compel as moot. We REMAND for further proceedings
consistent with this opinion. |