Goffe v. Winfrey

Full title: Damon Lloyd Goffe, Plaintiff, v. Oprah Winfrey, Defendant

Court: United States District Court, D. Columbia

Date published: Jul 21, 2009

Civil Action No. 09 1438 (D.D.C. Jul. 21, 2009)

Opinion

Civil Action No. 09 1438.

July 21, 2009

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ROYCE LAMBERTH, District Judge

This matter is before the Court on its initial review of plaintiff's pro se complaint, which is accompanied by an application to proceed in forma pauperis. The Court will grant the application and will dismiss the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

Plaintiff, a resident of Bronx, New York, sues Oprah Winfrey and Harpo, Inc., for copyright infringement. "[N]o civil action for infringement of the copyright in any United States work shall be instituted until preregistration or registration of the copyright claim has been made in accordance with this title [or] . . . where the deposit, application, and fee required for registration have been delivered to the Copyright Office in proper form and registration has been refused[.]" 17 U.S.C. § 411(a). Plaintiff does not allege that he complied with the registration provisions. The complaint therefore will be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. See Goffe v. Winfrey, 2008 WL 4787515 * 1 (S.D.N.Y., Oct. 31, 2008) (finding same). A separate Order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.