“My Way or the Highway”: Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Untimely Copyright Infringement Suit Regarding Hit Netflix Series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

Netflix popularized the cultural phenomenon of “binge-watching,” where viewers can choose from a wide variety of content to watch as many movies or shows as they want.¹  To meet the “binge-watching” demand of over 86 million subscribers in 190 countries, Netflix regularly updates its streaming platform with new content.²  One of these hit shows, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, was the basis of a copyright infringement suit that reached the Second Circuit in 2020.³  The case posed an interesting question – who owns the copyright of the Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee pilot episode?⁴

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee features comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who picks up each episode’s guest in a vintage car to engage in funny, caffeine-stimulated conversations.⁵  The show has featured guests such as Eddie Murphy and Barack Obama, and cars like the 1964 Studebaker Avanti.⁶  On February 9, 2018, plaintiff Christian Charles, a writer and director, filed a copyright infringement suit against Jerry Seinfeld, disputing ownership in the pilot episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.⁷  The lawsuit was filed soon after Seinfeld signed a deal with Netflix to stream the show at approximately $750,000 per episode.⁸

The two basic elements of a copyright infringement claim are (1) ownership of a valid copyright, and (2) copying of the original elements of the work.⁹ Charles’ claim disputed the first element, ownership.¹⁰  Therefore, the Southern District of New York and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals limited their analysis to the ownership element rather than the copying element.¹¹  Charles claimed copyright ownership in Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee primarily because he allegedly created the show idea.¹²  Additionally, Charles’ production company helped develop the pilot episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee in 2011.¹³  Seinfeld disputed Charles’ alleged ownership and moved to dismiss on the basis that Charles’ 2018 infringement claim was time-barred by the Copyright Act’s three-year statute of limitations.¹⁴

The evidence showed that in February 2012, Seinfeld rejected Charles’ request for back-end ownership compensation and clarified that Charles’ assistance with the pilot episode was completed on a work-for-hire basis.¹⁵  This compensation dispute, along with disagreements about production, led to a falling out between the parties. ¹⁶ Charles had no further involvement in the series and he was not credited in the July 2012 premier of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.¹⁷  The District Court granted Seinfeld’s motion to dismiss and held that the three-year statute of limitations period was triggered in 2012 because Charles knew, or should have known, that his copyright ownership claim was disputed.¹⁸  Accordingly, the district court concluded that the three-year statute of limitations expired in 2015, and Charles’ 2018 claim was time-barred.¹⁹  Charles timely appealed to the Second Circuit.

In May 2020, the Second Circuit affirmed the district court’s “well-reasoned” dismissal because a claim of copyright ownership “accrues only once, when a reasonably diligent plaintiff would have discovered that ownership was disputed.” ²⁰ Second Circuit precedent dictates that when “ownership is the dispositive issue” in an infringement claim, and the “ownership claim is time-barred,” then the infringement claim itself is time-barred.²¹  The time-bar cannot be lifted, even if there is evidence of newly infringing activity after the statute of limitations has expired.²²  In affirming that Charles’ ownership dispute was time-barred under the Copyright Act, the Second Circuit also agreed with the district court’s reasoning for dismissal.  Specifically, either Seinfeld’s rejection of back-end compensation due to work-for-hire limitations or Charles’ credit omission during the commercialization of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee was sufficient to place Charles on notice of copyright ownership in 2012.²³

The Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee case stresses the importance of filing a timely copyright infringement suit, especially when the central issue is copyright ownership.  Attorneys cannot rely on continuing acts of copyright infringement because the three-year statute of limitations is triggered once the plaintiff is put on notice.  A thorough factual investigation of the copyright dispute timeline is necessary to determine when plaintiff’s ownership claim accrued and whether litigation can be properly initiated within the three-year window.²⁴