The Architecture of Copyright Management: KFA v. AMH Creekside

This episode addresses whether a district court’s improper use of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(2) to dismiss individual claims, rather than an entire action, strips the appellate court of jurisdiction. While the court determines it does have jurisdiction, it must resolve disputes involving the Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act (AWCPA) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The court rules that Section 120(a) of the AWCPA, which allows for pictorial representations of constructed buildings, acts as an affirmative defense rather than a categorical bar to infringement claims at the pleading stage. Furthermore, the judges conclude that the DMCA was not violated because the defendants did not remove or alter existing copyright management information, but rather created new materials that simply omitted it. Ultimately, the court affirms the dismissal of the DMCA claims but vacates the dismissal of the copyright infringement claims for further proceedings.