AGREEMENT TRANSFERRED ONLY COPYRIGHT IN SUBJECT FILMS FROM SELLER TO BUYER, NOT COPYRIGHT IN BETTY BOOP CARTOON CHARACTER

摘要

A copyright purchase agreement transferred only the copyright in the subject films from the seller to the buyer, not the copyright in the "Betty Boop" cartoon character that appeared in the films. The agreement contained an explicit character-carveout provision which provided that "[a]nything to the contrary notwithstanding, no grant or assignment [was] made ... of the characters and characterizations contained in said Sold Photoplays . . . or of the copyrights in said characters or characterizations." Fleischer Studios, Inc. v. A.V.E.L.A., Inc., 99 U.S.P.Q.2d 1654, 2011 WL 3633512 (9th Cir. 2011)