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Malcomson v. Topps, Inc.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Nov 28, 2011
459 F. App'x 672 (9th Cir. 2011)

Opinion

No. 10-15540 D.C. No. 2:08-cv-02306-GMS

11-28-2011

SCOTT MALCOMSON, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. TOPPS, INC., Defendant - Appellee.


NOT FOR PUBLICATION


MEMORANDUM

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.


Appeal from the United States District Court

for the District of Arizona

G. Murray Snow, District Judge, Presiding

Before: TASHIMA, BERZON, and TALLMAN, Circuit Judges.

Scott Malcomson appeals pro se from the district court's summary judgment in his action alleging joint ownership of a copyright under 17 U.S.C. §§ 101 et seq. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo the grant of summary judgment, Aalmuhammed v. Lee, 202 F.3d 1227, 1230 (9th Cir. 2000), and for an abuse of discretion the denial of reconsideration, Zimmerman v. City of Oakland, 255 F.3d 734, 737 (9th Cir. 2001). We affirm.

The district court properly granted summary judgment because Malcomson failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether his periodic written contributions to a small portion of a popular science fiction gaming franchise satisfied the test for joint ownership of the entire work. See Aalmuhammed, 202 F.3d at 1234 (listing factors to determine whether a work is jointly authored in the absence of a contract for purposes of a copyright claim of joint ownership).

The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying reconsideration because Malcomson failed to establish that it committed "clear error" or made a decision that was "manifestly unjust." Zimmerman, 255 F.3d at 740.

Malcomson's remaining contentions are unpersuasive.

We decline to consider arguments raised for the first time on appeal. See MacDonald v. Grace Church Seattle, 457 F.3d 1079, 1086 (9th Cir. 2006).

AFFIRMED.


Summaries of

Malcomson v. Topps, Inc.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Nov 28, 2011
459 F. App'x 672 (9th Cir. 2011)
Case details for

Malcomson v. Topps, Inc.

Case Details

Full title:SCOTT MALCOMSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. TOPPS, INC., Defendant-Appellee

Court:United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Date published: Nov 28, 2011

Citations

459 F. App'x 672 (9th Cir. 2011)