Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:18-cv-00111-TES
06-29-2018
RODNEY MICHAEL MCCOLLIGAN, Plaintiff, v. VENDOR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, et al., Defendants.
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO CEASE AND DESIST
Plaintiff has moved the Court and all parties to "Cease and Desist use of Plaintiff's Copyright" and then proceeds to list various personal names he claims are protected by copyright and no one is allowed to use. [Doc. 17]. Plaintiff baldly asserts that anyone, including the Court ostensibly, who uses these "copyrighted names" will be charged $500,000 per occurrence. [Id. at 2]. However, "[i]n order to prove a claim of [copyright] infringement a plaintiff must show (1) that he owns a valid copyright in the work and (2) copying by the defendant." Original Appalachian Artworks, Inc. v. Toy Loft, Inc., 684 F.2d 821, 824 (11th Cir. 1982). Plaintiff has not shown that any of his allegedly copyrighted names are valid and registered works; therefore, his claim fails.
As the District Court for the Northern District of Georgia points out:
Plaintiff's allegations are consistent with "sovereign citizen" ideology, which is not recognized by the federal courts. Santiago v. Century 21/PHH Mortg., No. 1:12-CV-2792-KOB, 2013 WL 1281776, at *4-5 (N.D. Ala. Mar. 27, 2013) (recognizing plaintiff's argument that name used by mortgage company is not authorized for use by any agency or person as consistent with the "'sovereign citizen' movement" and that such theories "are not established law in this court or anywhere in this country's valid legal system").
For these reasons, Plaintiff's Motion to Cease and Desist Use of Copyright [Doc. 17] is without merit and is DENIED.
SO ORDERED, this 29th day of June, 2018.
S/ Tilman E. Self , III
TILMAN E. SELF, III, JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
Williams v. Warren, 1:16-CV-4657-TWT-JKL, 2017 WL 1395514, at *2 (N.D. Ga. Mar. 28, 2017) (first citation omitted), report and recommendation adopted, 1:16-CV-4657-TWT, 2017 WL 1376210 (N.D. Ga. Apr. 17, 2017), dismissed sub nom; Williams v. Cobb Cty., 17-12006-J, 2017 WL 3432031 (11th Cir. June 6, 2017).