Pleading of Database Copyright Infringement Fatally Flawed: E.D. Mich. | Practical Law

Pleading of Database Copyright Infringement Fatally Flawed: E.D. Mich. | Practical Law

In Ford Motor Co. v. Autel US Inc., the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan dismissed for failure to plead with particularity Ford Motor Co.'s and Ford Global Technologies' claim alleging copyright infringement of their proprietary database. The court ruled that the plaintiffs' copyright claim was deficient in alleging merely that the defendants copied the database's contents without also alleging that they copied the plaintiffs' selection, coordination and arrangement of the database's constituent data.

Pleading of Database Copyright Infringement Fatally Flawed: E.D. Mich.

Practical Law Legal Update 3-619-2850 (Approx. 3 pages)

Pleading of Database Copyright Infringement Fatally Flawed: E.D. Mich.

by Practical Law Intellectual Property & Technology
Published on 06 Oct 2015 • USA (National/Federal)
In Ford Motor Co. v. Autel US Inc., the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan dismissed for failure to plead with particularity Ford Motor Co.'s and Ford Global Technologies' claim alleging copyright infringement of their proprietary database. The court ruled that the plaintiffs' copyright claim was deficient in alleging merely that the defendants copied the database's contents without also alleging that they copied the plaintiffs' selection, coordination and arrangement of the database's constituent data.
On September 30, 2015, in Ford Motor Co. v. Autel US Inc., the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan granted in part and denied in part Autel US Inc.'s and Autel Intelligent Technology's (collectively Autel) motion to dismiss Ford Motor Co.'s and Ford Global Technologies's (collectively, Ford) complaint (No. 14-13760, (E.D. Mich. Sept. 30, 2015)). In particular, the court dismissed for failure to plead with particularity Ford's claim alleging copyright infringement of its database.
Ford, a well-known car manufacturer, sells automotive repair products, including its Integrated Diagnostic System (IDS System) which diagnoses potential problems with Ford's vehicles and guides their service and repair. The IDS System contains a software component that receives information, produces diagnoses and recommends repairs. This software contains data compilations, including the FFData file at issue in this case.
On September 29, 2014, Ford filed suit against Autel seeking relief on several counts. In relevant part, Ford's complaint alleged that Autel created a software program that circumvented Ford's security measures, accessed the FFData file without authorization, and subsequently copied the entire FFData file onto its product. Ford claimed that it had obtained a copyright for data from the FFData file and therefore Autel was liable for copyright infringement.
The court dismissed Ford's copyright infringement claim, explaining that:
  • Ford's copyright in the data compilation protects the selection, coordination and arrangement of the data, not the data itself.
  • Ford failed to plead with the required particularity that Autel copied the same or substantially similar selection, coordination and arrangement of its copyrighted data compilation because:
    • Ford alleged only that Autel duplicated Ford's FFData file, and that this file contains some of Ford's copyrighted data compilation;
    • it is unclear whether Ford alleged that Autel copied the selection, coordination and arrangement of that data; and
    • although Ford's complaint alleges that Autel duplicated the FFData file, an inference that Autel therefore copied the selection, coordination and arrangement of the file data is not sufficient to base a claim of copyright infringement where clearer language would eliminate all doubt.
The court concluded that, even when viewed in the light most favorable to Ford, the complaint failed to state a cause of action for copyright infringement. However, the court granted Ford leave to amend its copyright infringement claim by alleging additional facts.
The court also dismissed with leave to amend Ford's Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) claims and denied Autel's motion to dismiss Ford's trademark infringement claims.