Original "Flashdancer" Precluded From Bringing Claims Against J. Lo

Case: Marder v. Lopez et. al, Case No. 04-55615 (9th Cir. 6/12/06)

The One Sentence Summary: A broad release of all claims in connection with a film precluded releasor from asserting copyright claims against the releasee and from establishing copyright ownership.


What They Were Fighting About: Plaintiff had released Paramount Pictures from all claims relating to the movie Flashdance, which was allegedly based on her life story. Following a Jennifer Lopez music video released by Sony, which allegedly contained re-creations of well-known scenes from Flashdance, plaintiff sued Paramount, Lopez and Sony.

Ninth Circuit Holdings:

• Upon de novo review, affirms district court's dismissal of the complaint for failure to state a claim.
• The exceptionally broad release executed by plaintiff is fatal to each of her claims against Paramount. The release of "each and every claim" included the copyright claims asserted against Paramount. Although plaintiff received only $2300, there was no evidence that her consent was improperly obtained.
• A provision releasing claims and a provision granting rights (in this case, to plaintiff's life story) may both be included in a contract without undermining the effect of either. The provisions do not negate each other or create impermissible redundancy.
• Given the release, plaintiff cannot establish the requisite ownership of the allegedly infringed material as required to state a copyright claim against Lopez or Sony.