Opinion
2006-1913 N C.
Decided February 26, 2008.
Appeal from a judgment of the District Court of Nassau County, First District (Scott Fairgrieve, J.), entered June 14, 2005. The judgment, after a nonjury trial, dismissed the action.
Judgment modified by providing that the dismissal of the action is without prejudice; as so modified, affirmed without costs.
PRESENT: RUDOLPH, P.J., McCABE and SCHEINKMAN, JJ.
In this small claims action, plaintiff seeks to recover for copyright infringement. It is well settled that section 301 of the Copyright Act ( 17 USC § 301) provides for exclusive federal jurisdiction over all legal or equitable rights that are equivalent to any of the exclusive rights within the general scope of copyright law, and that state courts are divested of jurisdiction to hear copyright infringement cases ( see Meyers v Waverly Fabrics, Div. of F. Schumacher Co., 65 NY2d 75, 78; Editorial Photocolor Archives v Granger Collection, 61 NY2d 517, 522; Jordan v Aarismaa, 245 AD2d 616, 617; James v Delilah Films, 144 Misc 2d 374, 376; Burnett v Warner Bros. Pictures, 127 Misc 2d 553, 557). Accordingly, the instant cause of action for copyright infringement is preempted by federal law and should have been dismissed without prejudice on this ground.
Rudolph, P.J., McCabe and Scheinkman, JJ., concur.