Steiner v. CBS Broadcasting
In this suit for breach of contract and unjust enrichment, plaintiff Fred Steiner (plaintiff) appeals from a summary judgment entered in favor of defendant CBS Broadcasting Inc. (defendant). Plaintiff contends defendant owes him royalties for defendants use of music plaintiff composed for some of defendants television programs. Specifically, plaintiff claims royalties from defendants sale of the television programs in home video (DVD and VHS) format.
The trial court determined as a matter of law that plaintiffs claims are barred by the statute of limitations. It further that determined the terms of the contracts entered into by plaintiff and defendant for plaintiffs composition of music do not support plaintiffs breach of contract claims.
Our examination of the contracts and the record shows that plaintiff is correct when he contends there are issues of fact regarding the statute of limitations. There are also issues of fact regarding whether production of the DVDs and VHS tapes involved motion picture synchronization and the licensing of motion picture synchronization rights. However, those issues are not material issues that need to be resolved by trial because the controlling issue in this case is whether production of DVDs and VHS tapes involves licenses relating to theatrical motion picture synchronization rights. There is a provision in the subject contracts that provides that plaintiff is only entitled to royalty payments based on money received by defendant that is attributable to licenses relating to theatrical motion picture synchronization rights. Because the production of the home video of the television programs for which plaintiff composed music did not involve theatrical motion picture synchronization, plaintiff is not entitled to royalties from the sale of that home video. Therefore, Court affirm the summary judgment.
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