Itc Textile, Ltd v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.;

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
ITC TEXTILE, LTD,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
WAL-MART STORES, INC.; et al.,
Defendants - Appellees.
No. 13-55361
D.C. No. 2:12-cv-02650-JFW-
AJW
MEMORANDUM*
ITC TEXTILE, LTD,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
ROSS STORES, INC.; et al.,
Defendants - Appellees.
No. 13-55706
D.C. No. 2:13-cv-00036-JFW-
AJW
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Central District of California
John F. Walter, District Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted May 8, 2015
Pasadena, California
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
FILED
JUN 1 2015
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

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Before: BEA and FRIEDLAND, Circuit Judges and RICE,** District Judge.
Appellant ITC Textile, Ltd. brings a consolidated appeal from the district
court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of Avalon Apparel Group, LLC,
Disorderly Kids, LLC, and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and from the district court’s
dismissal of ITC’s suit against Avalon Apparel, Disorderly Kids, and Ross Stores,
Inc. We have jurisdiction over both cases under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we
reverse.
The district court held that, although ITC’s copyright registrations for the
two designs at issue in these cases—the Symphony Sweet design and the Medallion
Art design—were prima facie evidence of validity, Appellees had rebutted the
presumption of validity by showing that the designs were unoriginal and that ITC’s
copyrights were therefore invalid as a matter of law. But the declaration
submitted by Appellees to rebut the presumption of validity did not actually show
that the designs were unoriginal in the relevant sense, because it presented no
evidence that the compilation of elements in either the Symphony Sweet or
Medallion Art design lacked originality. See L.A. Printex Indus., Inc. v.
** The Honorable Thomas O. Rice, United States District Judge for the
Eastern District of Washington, sitting by designation.

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Aeropostale, Inc., 676 F.3d 841, 850 (9th Cir. 2012); United Fabrics Int’l, Inc. v.
C&J Wear, Inc., 630 F.3d 1255, 1257 (9th Cir. 2011). Because the declaration
did not rebut the presumption of validity, ITC was not required to produce further
evidence of originality (beyond its copyright registrations) to defeat summary
judgment. See United Fabrics, 630 F.3d. at 1258 (holding, in a case reversing sua
sponte dismissal at summary judgment stage, that the plaintiff did not have to
produce any evidence, because, as the copyright claimant, the plaintiff was
presumed to own a valid copyright).
Therefore, we REVERSE the district court’s order granting summary
judgment to Appellees in case number 13-55361, and REVERSE the district
court’s order granting Appellees’ motion to dismiss in case number 13-55706.
We also VACATE the district court’s order denying ITC additional time for
discovery so the district court may, if it finds doing so to be appropriate, reconsider
that order in light of this ruling.

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