Hart v. Amazon.Com, Inc.

Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Copyright Infringement
Citation
Case Number: 
No. 16-2793
Decision Date: 
January 6, 2017
Federal District: 
N.D. Ill., E. Div.
Holding: 
Affirmed

Dist. Ct. did not err in dismissing for failure to state claim pro se plaintiff’s action alleging that defendant engaged in copyright infringement and aided and abetted counterfeiting when plaintiff discovered that his self-published books were advertised for sale on defendant’s website under circumstances where, according to plaintiff, defendant made counterfeit copies of said books. Dist. Ct. could have properly found that plaintiff had failed to make plausible allegation that defendant had copied plaintiff’s books, rather than simply providing platform through which third-party vendors sold authentic copies of plaintiff’s books. Plaintiff also failed to allege that defendant was aware that plaintiff’s books that were sold on its website were counterfeits and also failed to demonstrate any plausible method for detecting counterfeit books.