Mom's release doesn't preclude child's copyright suit over T-shirt design, federal judge rules
A mother’s release allowing a second-grader in New York City to participate in a clothing company’s T-shirt design contest does not preclude the child’s subsequent copyright suit, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
However, U.S. District Judge Gregory Woods hasn’t yet decided what he says is the central issue in the case—whether a contract provision that treated the child’s design as a work for hire in which she has no copyright is unconscionable due to the disparate bargaining power of the parties, Courthouse News reports.
Ellen Solovsky, who is the mother of the unidentified schoolgirl, said her daughter got a $100 gift certificate and several T-shirts for her winning design, which featured a smiley face and the word “hi” on the front and a frowny face and the word “bye” on the back.
The design was allegedly used by clothier Miss Matched and successor companies Sock Drawer and Delta Galil on products they sold.
The defendants in the Manhattan case contended that the T-shirt design was not copyrightable due to its simplicity, but the judge did not agree.
“Plaintiff chose to place the positive smiley face and the word ‘hi’ on the front of the shirt, greeting another person approaching the wearer; and chose to place the negative frowning face and the word “bye” on the back of the shirt, which another person would see when the wearer leaves,” said Woods in his written opinion. “Although the selection and arrangement of these elements may have only required a modest amount of creativity, that is all that is needed for plaintiff to survive a motion to dismiss.”
A subsequent hearing will be held to help determine whether the contract was unconscionable.
