HOUSTON – Sept. 26, 2024 – Attorneys from global law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP’s Houston office secured an appellate court victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for Houston art studio Mix Creative Learning Center, LLC; DBA, Artmix Studio in Michel Keck v. Mix Creative Learning Center, LLC, et al., case number 23-20188. The case is a copyright and trademark dispute originally brought by mixed-media artist Michel Keck in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division.
The dispute centered on claims of copyright and trademark infringement based on Mix Creative Learning Center’s use of Keck’s Dog Art in art kits sold by the studio online. Keck’s lawsuit argued for enhanced statutory damages for willful infringement in an amount up to $150,000 for each of the six copyrighted works at issue under the Copyright Act, as well as injunctive relief and other claims.
The District Court denied the claims and found that, as a matter of law, there was no willful infringement and the doctrine of “fair use” protected Mix Creative Learning Center’s conduct. It also granted summary judgment to Mix Creative on the trademark claim, although Mix Creative Learning Center had not sought summary judgment on that claim. The District Court also awarded attorney’s fees and costs to Mix Creative Learning Center as a prevailing party under Section 505 of the Copyright Act in the amount of $102,569.72.
Keck appealed the District Court’s ruling. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s decisions, concluding that (i) the fair use defense to copyright infringement applies since Mix Creative Learning Center's use was transformative and unlikely to cause harm to markets for Keck's copyrighted works, even though the studio’s use was commercial in nature; (ii) any error in the District Court's sua sponte grant of summary judgment on the trademark claim was harmless; and (iii) the District Court did not abuse its discretion in awarding fees.
“I am so grateful to Greenberg Traurig Shareholders Roland Garcia and Mark Chretien for all of their help, knowledge, and kindness,” said Jacqueline Kenneally, owner of Mix Creative Learning Center. “This result is an enormous relief for ArtMix and me, as well as other art teachers and artists everywhere. Thanks to their good work, I can resume teaching my students about artists from around the world, continuing to give them full credit for their inspiration with more joy again after this nearly two-year-long journey.”
“We very much appreciate the Fifth Circuit’s attention on this complex and important matter,” Garcia and Chretien said in a joint statement. “The case presented unique issues of fair use in a commercial art school setting and gives guidance for future artists and art instructors. The fee award cautions claimants against bringing willful infringement claims without any evidence to support the claims.”
The Greenberg Traurig attorney team also included Shareholder Elizabeth "Heidi" G. Bloch.
In Michel Keck v. Mix Creative Learning Center, LLC. the Fifth Circuit issued a unanimous published opinion by Justice Edith Jones with Circuit Panel Members Justice Jerry Smith and Justice James Ho.
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