Nova Design Build, Inc. v. Grace Hotels, LLC, No. 08 C 2855, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Feb. 26, 2010) (Der-Yeghiayan).

Judge Der-Yeghiayan granted defendant summary judgment as to plaintiffs’ copyright infringement claims, and refused to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over plaintiff’s state law claims. Plaintiffs had a registered copyright, which was prima facie evidence of registration. But the Court held the registration was invalid because it was not accompanied by original deposit materials.

 

Plaintiffs were robbed prior to filing for their copyright. The original building diagrams were taken at that time. So, in order for plaintiffs to get copyright protection, plaintiff prepared a reconstruction of the deposit materials – blueprints in this case. The fact that the deposit material was a close approximation of the originals was not enough. Furthermore, manual reconstruction without reference to the original was also not sufficient. Having denied plaintiffs’ federal claims, the court exercised its discretion to refuse supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims.

 

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