Motion To Enjoin Register Of Copyrights

1 Paul Andrew Mitchell 2 c/o P.O. Box 370 3 Sunset Beach 90742 4 CALIFORNIA, USA 5 6 tel: (562) 592-9047 7 fax: (562) 592-4917 8 9 In Propria Persona 10 11 All Rights Reserved 12 without Prejudice 13 14 15 16 United States Court of Appeals 17 18 Ninth Circuit 19 20 21 Paul Andrew Mitchell, ) Appeal No. 02-15269 22 ) 23 Plaintiff/Appellant, ) MOTION FOR ORDER 24 ) ENJOINING FURTHER INACTION 25 v. ) BY THE REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS: 26 ) 27 AOL Time Warner, Inc. et al., ) FRAP Rule 8(a)(1)(C), 8(a)(2); 28 ) FREv Rule 201(d) 29 Defendants/Appellees.) 30 ______) 31 ) 32 Register of Copyrights, ) 33 ) 34 Respondent. ) 35 ______)

37 COMES NOW Paul Andrew Mitchell, Appellant in the above entitled case,

38 to move this honorable Court, pursuant to Rule 8 of the Federal Rules

39 of Appellate Procedure (“FRAP”), for an ORDER enjoining the Register

40 of Copyrights from further inaction in the matter of Appellant’s

41 application for copyright registration, and for a routine stay of the

42 Briefing Schedule, and to provide Notice to all interested party(s) of

43 same.

1 Motion for ORDER Enjoining Register of Copyrights from Inaction: 2 Page 1 of 15 1 Appellant hereby states that:

2 (i) moving the district court is now entirely impractical,

3 because this Court of Appeals has jurisdiction; and,

4 (ii) the district court failed to correct the Magistrate

5 Judge’s plain errors with respect to Appellant’s

6 application for copyright registration, even after

7 Appellant moved the district court for reconsideration.

9 REASONS FOR GRANTING RELIEF REQUESTED

10 On July 17, 2001 A.D., Appellant applied for registration of His

11 exclusive copyright in the subject book by transmitting to the

12 Register of Copyrights a completed Application Form TX, two (2) copies

13 of the best edition, and the registration fee of $30.00.

14 Subsequently, Appellant received from the Copyright Office a

15 completed PS Form 3811 (“green card”) confirming that the Copyright

16 Office did receive the completed application on July 23, 2001 A.D.

17 (See Attachment “A”.)

18 Ever since this latter date, however, the Copyright Office has

19 failed to confirm registration, and it has also failed to refuse

20 registration.

21 Appellant appears to be in “legal limbo” as a result of inaction

22 by the Register of Copyrights.

23 On August 1, 2001 A.D., Appellant filed the instant action in the

24 District Court of the United States (“DCUS”), Eastern Judicial

25 District of California, in Sacramento, California.

26 COUNT ONE in Appellant’s Initial COMPLAINT alleges copyright

27 infringements by all 129 named Defendants.

1 Motion for ORDER Enjoining Register of Copyrights from Inaction: 2 Page 2 of 15 1 On or about September 10, 2001 A.D., Appellant filed in the DCUS

2 His NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION, BY AFFIDAVIT. (See Attachment

3 “B”.)

4 On December 31, 2001 A.D., without jurisdiction and without the

5 consent of any parties, a U.S. Magistrate Judge filed an ORDER [sic]

6 AND FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS, later adopted in full by U.S.

7 District Judge William B. Shubb. (See Attachment “C”.)

8 Those FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS committed a plain error by

9 concluding, “Because plaintiff has not registered his copyright, the

10 first cause of action must be dismissed for lack of subject matter

11 jurisdiction.” (See Attachment “D”, pages 6 thru 8.)

12 Appellant then moved the DCUS to strike those FINDINGS AND

13 RECOMMENDATIONS (see Attachment “E”, Pages 12 of 42 thru 17 of 42),

14 and also requested reconsideration of Judge Shubb’s ORDER adopting

15 same in full (see Attachment “F”, Page 11 of 22, lines 13-16).

16 In error, Judge Shubb denied Appellant’s motions to strike and

17 for reconsideration. (See Attachment “G”.)

18 On February 14, 2002 A.D., Appellant wrote a letter to the

19 Copyright Office, requesting confirmation whether or not registration

20 has been refused. (See Attachment “H”.) On March 5, 2002 A.D.,

21 Appellant mailed a second copy of that letter to the Copyright Office.

22 Appellant now believes that the Copyright Office abused its

23 discretion by failing to register Appellant’s copyright, and also by

24 failing to refuse registration.

25 The legal “limbo” caused by the Register’s abuse of discretion

26 has resulted in prejudice to Appellant.

1 Motion for ORDER Enjoining Register of Copyrights from Inaction: 2 Page 3 of 15 1 APPLICABLE CASE LAW

2 Appellant argues that the facts and law in this instance are

3 relatively simple and straightforward. The statute at 17 U.S.C.

4 411(a) allows an infringement suit even if registration is refused:

5 As is evident, a party may now sue for infringement 6 notwithstanding the refusal of the Register to register the claim 7 to copyright. The only precondition is that notice [of the 8 action] be served on the Register. 9 10 [Nova Stylings, Inc. v. Ladd] 11 [695 F.2d 1179 (9th Cir. 1983)] 12 [bold emphasis added]

13 Because the Register of Copyrights has not formally refused

14 Appellant’s application for copyright registration, Appellant did not

15 feel obliged to serve formal Notice of the instant lawsuit on the

16 Register of Copyrights.

17 See also 17 U.S.C. 408(a); Washingtonian Publishing Co. v.

18 Pearson, 306 U.S. 30 (1939) (mere delay in depositing copies will not

19 destroy right to sue); Apple Barrel Productions, Inc. v. Beard, 730

20 F.2d 384 (5th Cir. 1984) (proof of application, plus payment of fee and

21 deposit of work are sufficient to give plaintiff standing to sue for

22 copyright infringement).

24 REQUEST FOR MANDATORY JUDICIAL NOTICE

25 Pursuant to Rule 201(d) of the Federal Rules of Evidence

26 (“FREv”), Appellant respectfully requests mandatory judicial notice by

27 this honorable Court of Attachments “A” thru “H” infra, which are

28 hereby incorporated by reference, as if set forth fully herein.

1 Motion for ORDER Enjoining Register of Copyrights from Inaction: 2 Page 4 of 15 1 REMEDY REQUESTED

2 Pursuant to FRAP Rule 8(a)(2), Appellant respectfully requests a

3 routine ORDER from this honorable Court, or from one of its judges,

4 enjoining the Register of Copyrights from any further inaction in the

5 matter of Appellant’s Application Form TX, for a Nondramatic Literary

6 Work. See 17 U.S.C. 411(a).

7 To allow the Register of Copyrights an opportunity to respond,

8 Appellant also requests that this Court, or one of its judges, also

9 order a routine stay in the Briefing Schedule, pending entry of an

10 appearance by the Register of Copyrights within sixty (60) calendar

11 days from issuance of the injunction requested herein.

12 Even if the instant MOTION should ultimately be denied, a routine

13 stay in the Briefing Schedule is recommended to ensure proper judicial

14 review of this MOTION, and to provide Appellant an opportunity to

15 respond appropriately to this Court’s ruling on same.

16 VERIFICATION

17 I, Paul Andrew Mitchell, Sui Juris, Appellant in the above

18 entitled action, hereby verify under penalty of perjury, under the

19 laws of the United States of America, without the “United States”

20 (federal government), that the above statement of facts and laws is

21 true and correct, according to the best of My current information,

22 knowledge, and belief, so help me God, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1746(1).

24 Dated: March 6, 2002 A.D.

26 Signed: /s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell 27 ______28 Printed: Paul Andrew Mitchell, B.A., M.S., Sui Juris 29 Appellant In Propria Persona (not “Pro Se”)

1 Motion for ORDER Enjoining Register of Copyrights from Inaction: 2 Page 5 of 15 1 PROOF OF SERVICE

2 I, Paul Andrew Mitchell, Sui Juris, hereby certify, under penalty of

3 perjury, under the laws of the United States of America, without the

4 “United States” (federal government), that I am at least 18 years of

5 age, a Citizen of ONE OF the United States of America, and that I

6 personally served the following document(s):

7 8 MOTION FOR ORDER ENJOINING FURTHER INACTION 9 BY THE REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS: 10 FRAP Rule 8(a)(1)(C), 8(a)(2); FREv 201(d) 11 12 by placing one true and correct copy of said document(s) in first

13 class United States Mail, with postage prepaid and properly addressed

14 to the following:

15 16 Judge Alex Kozinski Clerk of Court (5x) 17 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Attention: Cathy Catterson 18 P.O. Box 91510 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals 19 Pasadena 91109-1510 P.O. Box 193939 20 CALIFORNIA, USA San Francisco 94119-3939 21 CALIFORNIA, USA 22 23 Ropers, Majeski, Kohn & Bentley DeForest & Koscelnik 24 (failed to exhibit oaths) (failed to exhibit oath) 25 1001 Marshall Street 3000 Koppers Building 26 Redwood City 94063 436 Seventh Avenue 27 CALIFORNIA, USA Pittsburgh 15219 28 PENNSYLVANIA, USA 29 30 Murphy Austin Adams Schoenfeld LLP Pillsbury Winthrop LLP 31 (failed to exhibit oaths) (failed to exhibit oaths) 32 P.O. Box 1319 400 Capitol Mall, Suite 1700 33 Sacramento 95812-1319 Sacramento 95814-4419 34 CALIFORNIA, USA CALIFORNIA, USA 35 36 Curiale Dellaverson Hirschfeld Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver 37 Kraemer & Sloan, LLP & Hedges, LLP 38 (oaths requested) (oaths requested) 39 727 Sansome Street 201 Sansome Street, 6th Floor 40 San Francisco 94111 San Francisco 94104 41 CALIFORNIA, USA CALIFORNIA, USA

1 Motion for ORDER Enjoining Register of Copyrights from Inaction: 2 Page 6 of 15 1 Office of the General Counsel Paul Southworth 2 University of California 2018 N. New Hampshire Ave. 3 1111 Franklin Street, 8th Floor Los Angeles 90027 4 Oakland 94607-5200 CALIFORNIA, USA 5 CALIFORNIA, USA 6 7 Karl Kleinpaste Ram Samudrala 8 P.O. Box 1551 UW Micro Box 357242 9 Beaver Falls 15010 Seattle 98195-7242 10 PENNSYLVANIA, USA WASHINGTON STATE, USA 11 12 Laskin & Guenard Rivkin Radler, LLP 13 1810 South Street 1330 N. Dutton Ave., #200 14 Sacramento 95814 Santa Rosa 95401-4646 15 CALIFORNIA, USA CALIFORNIA, USA 16 17 Harvey Siskind Jacobs LLP Office of Solicitor General 18 3 Embarcadero Center, Ste. 1060 950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. 19 San Francisco 94111 Room 5614 20 CALIFORNIA, USA Washington 20530-0001 21 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, USA 22 23 Register of Copyrights Steinhart & Falconer LLP 24 Library of Congress 333 Market Street, 32nd Floor 25 101 Independence Avenue, S.E. San Francisco 94105-2150 26 Washington 20559-6000 CALIFORNIA, USA 27 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, USA 28 29 30 Dated: March 7, 2002 A.D.

32 Signed: /s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell 33 ______34 Printed: Paul Andrew Mitchell, Appellant In Propria Persona 35 (not “Pro Se” [sic])

1 Motion for ORDER Enjoining Register of Copyrights from Inaction: 2 Page 7 of 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Attachment “A”: 12 13 Appellant’s Completed Application Form TX 14 and Related Documents 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

1 Motion for ORDER Enjoining Register of Copyrights from Inaction: 2 Page 8 of 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Attachment “B”: 12 13 Appellant’s NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION, 14 BY AFFIDAVIT 15 16 Dated: September 10, 2001 A.D. 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

1 Motion for ORDER Enjoining Register of Copyrights from Inaction: 2 Page 9 of 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Attachment “C”: 12 13 USDC’s ORDER Adopting FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 14 15 Filed January 25, 2002 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

1 Motion for ORDER Enjoining Register of Copyrights from Inaction: 2 Page 10 of 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Attachment “D”: 12 13 Magistrate’s ORDER AND FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 14 15 Filed December 31, 2001 16 17 (See pages 6 thru 8.) 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

1 Motion for ORDER Enjoining Register of Copyrights from Inaction: 2 Page 11 of 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Attachment “E”: 12 13 Appellant’s MOTION TO STRIKE ORDER AND 14 FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF MAGISTRATE JUDGE -- 15 PART I 16 17 (See Pages 12 of 42 thru 17 of 42.) 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

1 Motion for ORDER Enjoining Register of Copyrights from Inaction: 2 Page 12 of 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Attachment “F”: 12 13 Appellant’s MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION OF 14 USDC’S ORDER FILED IN ERROR ON JANUARY 25, 2002 A.D. 15 16 (See Page 11 of 22, lines 13-16.) 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

1 Motion for ORDER Enjoining Register of Copyrights from Inaction: 2 Page 13 of 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Attachment “G”: 12 13 USDC’s ORDER 14 15 Filed February 5, 2002 16 17 -and- 18 19 USDC’s MEMORANDUM AND ORDER 20 21 Filed February 22, 2002 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

1 Motion for ORDER Enjoining Register of Copyrights from Inaction: 2 Page 14 of 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Attachment “H”: 12 13 Appellant’s Letter to the Copyright Office 14 Requesting Copyright Registration Status 15 16 Dated: February 14, 2002 A.D. 17 18 (re-mailed on March 5, 2002 A.D.) 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

1 Motion for ORDER Enjoining Register of Copyrights from Inaction: 2 Page 15 of 15