Stephanie Lenz v. Universal Music Corp.

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

STEPHANIE LENZ,

Plaintiff-Appellee/

Cross-Appellant,

UNIVERSAL MUSIC CORP.;

UNIVERSAL MUSIC PUBLISHING INC.;

UNIVERSAL MUSIC PUBLISHING

GROUP INC.,

Defendants-Appellants/

Cross-Appellees.

Nos. 13-16106

13-16107

D.C. No.

5:07-cv-03783-

OPINION

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Northern District of California

Jeremy D. Fogel, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted

July 7, 2015—San Francisco, California

Filed September 14, 2015

Before: Richard C. Tallman, Milan D. Smith, Jr.,

and Mary H. Murguia, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Tallman;

Partial Concurrence and Partial Dissent by Judge Milan D.

Smith, Jr.

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC2

SUMMARY

Digital Millennium Copyright Act

The panel affirmed the district court’s denial of the

parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment in an action

under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”)

alleging that the defendants violated 17 U.S.C. § 512(f) by

misrepresenting in a takedown notification that the plaintiff’s

home video constituted an infringing use of a portion of a

Prince composition.

The panel held that the DMCA requires copyright holders

to consider fair use before sending a takedown notification,

and that failure to do so raises a triable issue as to whether the

use was not authorized by law. Regarding good faith belief,

the panel held that the plaintiff could proceed under an actual

knowledge theory. The panel held that the willful blindness

doctrine may be used to determine whether a copyright holder

knowingly materially misrepresented that it held a good faith

belief that the offending activity was not a fair use. The

plaintiff here, however, could not proceed to trial under a

willful blindness theory because she did not show that the

defendants subjectively believed there was a high probability

that the video constituted fair use. The panel also held that a

plaintiff may seek recovery of nominal damages for an injury

incurred as a result of a § 512(f) misrepresentation.

This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has

been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader.

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC 3

Judge M. Smith concurred in part, dissented in part, and

concurred in the judgment. Dissenting from Part IV.C of

the majority opinion, addressing good faith belief, he

questioned whether § 512(f) directly prohibits a party from

misrepresenting that it has formed a good faith belief that a

work is subject to the fair use doctrine. He wrote that the

plain text of the statute prohibits misrepresentations that a

work is infringing, not misrepresentations about the party’s

diligence in forming its belief that the work is infringing.

Judge M. Smith disagreed that there was any material dispute

about whether the defendants considered fair use, and he

wrote that the willful blindness doctrine does not apply

where, as here, a party has failed to consider fair use and has

affirmatively misrepresented that a work is infringing.

COUNSEL

Kelly M. Klaus (argued) and Melinda LeMoine, Munger,

Tolles & Olson LLP, Los Angeles, California, for

Defendants-Appellants/Cross-Appellees.

Corynne McSherry (argued), Cindy Cohn, Kurt Opsahl,

Daniel K. Nazer, and Julie Samuels, Electronic Frontier

Foundation, San Francisco, California; Ashok Ramani,

Michael S. Kwun, and Theresa H. Nguyen, Keker & Van

Nest LLP, San Francisco, California, for Plaintiff-

Appellee/Cross-Appellant.

Steven Fabrizio and Scott Wilkens, Jenner & Block LLP,

Washington, D.C., for Amicus Curiae Motion Picture

Association of America, Inc.

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC4

Jennifer Pariser, Of Counsel, Recording Industry Association

of America, Washington, D.C.; Cynthia Arato, Marc Isserles,

and Jeremy Licht, Shapiro, Arato & Isserles LLP, New York,

New York, for Amicus Curiae Recording Industry

Association of America.

Joseph Gratz, Durie Tangri LLP, San Francisco, California,

for Amici Curiae Google Inc., Twitter Inc., and Tumblr, Inc.

Marvin Ammori and Lavon Ammori, Ammori Group,

Washington, D.C., for Amicus Curiae Automatic, Inc.

Julie Ahrens and Timothy Greene, Stanford Law School

Center for Internet and Society, Stanford, California, for

Amici Curiae Organization fo Transformative Works, Public

Knowledge, and International Documentary Association.

OPINION

TALLMAN, Circuit Judge:

Stephanie Lenz filed suit under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f)—part

of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”)—

against Universal Music Corp., Universal Music Publishing,

Inc., and Universal Music Publishing Group (collectively

“Universal”). She alleges Universal misrepresented in a

takedown notification that her 29-second home video (the

“video”) constituted an infringing use of a portion of a

composition by the Artist known as Prince, which Universal

insists was unauthorized by the law. Her claim boils down to

a question of whether copyright holders have been abusing

the extrajudicial takedown procedures provided for in the

DMCA by declining to first evaluate whether the content

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC 5

qualifies as fair use. We hold that the statute requires

takedown notification, and that failure to do so raises a triable

issue as to whether the copyright holder formed a subjective

good faith belief that the use was not authorized by law. We

affirm the denial of the parties’ cross-motions for summary

judgment.

Founded in May 2005, YouTube (now owned by Google)

operates a website that hosts user-generated content. About

YouTube, YouTube.com, https://www. youtube.com/yt/about/

(last visited September 4, 2015). Users upload videos

directly to the website. Id. On February 7, 2007, Lenz

uploaded to YouTube a 29-second home video of her two

young children in the family kitchen dancing to the song Let’s

Go Crazy by Prince.

Available at https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=N1Kf JHFWlhQ (last visited September 4, 2015).

She titled the video “‘Let’s Go Crazy’ #1.” About four

seconds into the video, Lenz asks her thirteen month-old son

“what do you think of the music?” after which he bobs up and

down while holding a push toy.

At the time Lenz posted the video, Universal was Prince’s

publishing administrator responsible for enforcing his

copyrights. To accomplish this objective with respect to

YouTube, Robert Allen, Universal’s head of business affairs,

assigned Sean Johnson, an assistant in the legal department,

YouTube is a for-profit company that generates revenues by selling

advertising. If users choose to become “content partners” with YouTube,

they share in a portion of the advertising revenue generated. Lenz is not

a content partner and no advertisements appear next to the video.

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC6

to monitor YouTube on a daily basis. Johnson searched

YouTube for Prince’s songs and reviewed the video postings

returned by his online search query. When reviewing such

videos, he evaluated whether they “embodied a Prince

composition” by making “significant use of . . . the

composition, specifically if the song was recognizable, was

in a significant portion of the video or was the focus of the

video.” According to Allen, “[t]he general guidelines are that

. . . we review the video to ensure that the composition was

the focus and if it was we then notify YouTube that the video

should be removed.”

Johnson contrasted videos that met this criteria to those

“that may have had a second or less of a Prince song, literally

a one line, half line of Prince song” or “were shot in

incredibly noisy environments, such as bars, where there

could be a Prince song playing deep in the background . . . to

the point where if there was any Prince composition

embodied . . . in those videos that it was distorted beyond

reasonable recognition.” None of the video evaluation

guidelines explicitly include consideration of the fair use

doctrine.

When Johnson reviewed Lenz’s video, he recognized

Let’s Go Crazy immediately. He noted that it played loudly

in the background throughout the entire video. Based on

these details, the video’s title, and Lenz’s query during the

video asking if her son liked the song, he concluded that

Prince’s song “was very much the focus of the video.” As a

result, Johnson decided the video should be included in a

takedown notification sent to YouTube that listed more than

200 YouTube videos Universal believed to be making

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC 7

unauthorized use of Prince’s songs.

The notice included a

“good faith belief” statement as required by 17 U.S.C.

§ 512(c)(3)(A)(v): “We have a good faith belief that the

above-described activity is not authorized by the copyright

owner, its agent, or the law.”

After receiving the takedown notification, YouTube

removed the video and sent Lenz an email on June 5, 2007,

notifying her of the removal. On June 7, 2007, Lenz

attempted to restore the video by sending a counter-

notification to YouTube pursuant to § 512(g)(3). After

YouTube provided this counter-notification to Universal per

§ 512(g)(2)(B), Universal protested the video’s reinstatement

because Lenz failed to properly acknowledge that her

statement was made under penalty of perjury, as required by

§ 512(g)(3)(C). Universal’s protest reiterated that the video

constituted infringement because there was no record that

“either she or YouTube were ever granted licenses to

reproduce, distribute, publicly perform or otherwise exploit

the Composition.” The protest made no mention of fair use.

After obtaining pro bono counsel, Lenz sent a second

counter-notification on June 27, 2007, which resulted in

YouTube’s reinstatement of the video in mid-July.

Lenz filed the instant action on July 24, 2007, and her

Amended Complaint on August 15, 2007. After the district

court dismissed her tortious interference claim and request for

“[T]he parties do not dispute that Lenz used copyrighted material in her

video or that Universal is the true owner of Prince’s copyrighted music.”

Lenz v. Universal Music Corp., 572 F. Supp. 2d 1150, 1153–54 (N.D. Cal.

2008).

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC8

declaratory relief, Lenz filed her Second Amended Complaint

on April 18, 2008, alleging only a claim for misrepresentation

under § 512(f). The district court denied Universal’s motion

to dismiss the action.

On February 25, 2010, the district court granted Lenz’s

partial motion for summary judgment on Universal’s six

affirmative defenses, including the third affirmative defense

that Lenz suffered no damages. Both parties subsequently

moved for summary judgment on Lenz’s § 512(f)

misrepresentation claim. On January 24, 2013, the district

court denied both motions in an order that is now before us.

The district court certified its summary judgment order

for interlocutory appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b), and

stayed proceedings in district court pending resolution of the

appeal. We granted the parties permission to bring an

interlocutory appeal.

III

We review de novo the district court’s denial of summary

judgment. When doing so, we “must determine whether the

evidence, viewed in a light most favorable to the non-moving

party, presents any genuine issues of material fact and

whether the district court correctly applied the law.” Warren

v. City of Carlsbad, 58 F.3d 439, 441 (9th Cir. 1995). On

cross-motions for summary judgment, we evaluate each

motion independently, “giving the nonmoving party in each

instance the benefit of all reasonable inferences.” ACLU v.

City of Las Vegas, 333 F.3d 1092, 1097 (9th Cir. 2003).

When evaluating an interlocutory appeal, we “may

address any issue fairly included within the certified order

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC 9

because it is the order that is appealable, and not the

controlling question identified by the district court.” Yamaha

Motor Corp., U.S.A. v. Calhoun, 516 U.S. 199, 205 (1996)

(emphasis in original) (quotation omitted). We may therefore

“address those issues material to the order from which appeal

has been taken.” In re Cinematronics, Inc., 916 F.2d 1444,

1449 (9th Cir. 1990) (emphasis in original) (permitting

appellate review of a ruling issued prior to the order certified

for interlocutory appeal).

Effective on October 28, 1998, the DMCA added new

sections to existing copyright law by enacting five Titles,

only one of which is relevant here: Title II—Online

codified in 17 U.S.C. § 512. Sections 512(c), (f), and (g) are

at the heart of the parties’ dispute.

Section 512(c) permits service providers, e.g., YouTube

or Google, to avoid copyright infringement liability for

storing users’ content if—among other requirements—the

service provider “expeditiously” removes or disables access

to the content after receiving notification from a copyright

holder that the content is infringing. 17 U.S.C. § 512(c).

Section 512(c)(3)(A) sets forth the elements that such a

“takedown notification” must contain. These elements

include identification of the copyrighted work, identification

of the allegedly infringing material, and, critically, a

statement that the copyright holder believes in good faith the

infringing material “is not authorized by the copyright owner,

its agent, or the law.” Id. § 512(c)(3)(A). The procedures

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC10

outlined in § 512(c) are referred to as the DMCA’s

“takedown procedures.”

To avoid liability for disabling or removing content, the

service provider must notify the user of the takedown. Id.

§ 512(g)(1)–(2). The user then has the option of restoring the

content by sending a counter-notification, which must include

a statement of “good faith belief that the material was

removed or disabled as a result of mistake or

misidentification . . . .” Id. § 512(g)(3)(C). Upon receipt of

a valid counter-notification, the service provider must inform

the copyright holder of the counter-notification and restore

the content within “not less than 10, nor more than 14,

business days,” unless the service provider receives notice

that the copyright holder has filed a lawsuit against the user

seeking to restrain the user’s infringing behavior. Id.

§ 512(g)(2)(B)–(C). The procedures outlined in § 512(g) are

referred to as the DMCA’s “put-back procedures.”

If an entity abuses the DMCA, it may be subject to

liability under § 512(f). That section provides: “Any person

who knowingly materially misrepresents under this

section—(1) that material or activity is infringing, or (2) that

material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or

misidentification, shall be liable for any damages . . . .” Id.

§ 512(f). Subsection (1) generally applies to copyright

holders and subsection (2) generally applies to users. Only

subsection (1) is at issue here.

We must first determine whether 17 U.S.C.

§ 512(c)(3)(A)(v) requires copyright holders to consider

whether the potentially infringing material is a fair use of a

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC 11

notification. Section 512(c)(3)(A)(v) requires a takedown

notification to include a “statement that the complaining party

has a good faith belief that the use of the material in the

manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright

owner, its agent, or the law.” The parties dispute whether fair

use is an authorization under the law as contemplated by the

statute—which is so far as we know an issue of first

impression in any circuit across the nation. “Canons of

statutory construction dictate that if the language of a statute

is clear, we look no further than that language in determining

the statute’s meaning. . . . A court looks to legislative history

only if the statute is unclear.” United States v. Lewis, 67 F.3d

225, 228–29 (9th Cir. 1995) (citations omitted). We agree

with the district court and hold that the statute unambiguously

contemplates fair use as a use authorized by the law.

Fair use is not just excused by the law, it is wholly

authorized by the law. In 1976, Congress codified the

application of a four-step test for determining the fair use of

copyrighted works:

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections

106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted

work, . . . for purposes such as criticism,

comment, news reporting, teaching (including

multiple copies for classroom use),

scholarship, or research, is not an

infringement of copyright. In determining

whether the use made of a work in any

particular case is a fair use the factors to be

considered shall include—

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC12

(1) the purpose and character of the use,

including whether such use is of a

commercial nature or is for nonprofit

educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the

portion used in relation to the copyrighted

work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential

market for or value of the copyrighted

work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not

itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding

is made upon consideration of all the above

factors.

17 U.S.C. § 107 (emphasis added). The statute explains that

the fair use of a copyrighted work is permissible because it is

a non-infringing use.

While Title 17 of the United States Code (“Copyrights”)

does not define the term “authorize” or “authorized,” “[w]hen

there is no indication that Congress intended a specific legal

meaning for the term, the court may look to sources such as

dictionaries for a definition.” United States v. Mohrbacher,

182 F.3d 1041, 1048 (9th Cir. 1999). Black’s Law Dictionary

defines “authorize” as “1. To give legal authority; to

empower” and “2. To formally approve; to sanction.”

Authorize, Black’s Law Dictionary (10th ed. 2014). Because

17 U.S.C. § 107 both “empowers” and “formally approves”

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC 13

the use of copyrighted material if the use constitutes fair use,

fair use is “authorized by the law” within the meaning of

§ 512(c). See also 17 U.S.C. § 108(f)(4) (“Nothing in this

section in any way affects the right of fair use as provided by

section 107 . . . .” (emphasis added)).

Universal’s sole textual argument is that fair use is not

“authorized by the law” because it is an affirmative defense

that excuses otherwise infringing conduct. Universal’s

interpretation is incorrect as it conflates two different

concepts: an affirmative defense that is labeled as such due to

the procedural posture of the case, and an affirmative defense

that excuses impermissible conduct. Supreme Court

precedent squarely supports the conclusion that fair use does

not fall into the latter camp: “[A]nyone who . . . makes a fair

use of the work is not an infringer of the copyright with

respect to such use.” Sony Corp. of Am. v. Universal City

Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417, 433 (1984).

Given that 17 U.S.C. § 107 expressly authorizes fair use,

labeling it as an affirmative defense that excuses conduct is

a misnomer:

Although the traditional approach is to view

“fair use” as an affirmative defense, . . . it is

better viewed as a right granted by the

judicial doctrine without any statutory basis,

fair use was an infringement that was

excused—this is presumably why it was

treated as a defense. As a statutory doctrine,

however, fair use is not an infringement.

Thus, since the passage of the 1976 Act, fair

use should no longer be considered an

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC14

infringement to be excused; instead, it is

logical to view fair use as a right. Regardless

of how fair use is viewed, it is clear that the

burden of proving fair use is always on the

putative infringer.

Bateman v. Mnemonics, Inc., 79 F.3d 1532, 1542 n.22 (11th

Cir. 1996); cf. Lydia Pallas Loren, Fair Use: An Affirmative

Defense?, 90 Wash. L. Rev. 685, 688 (2015) (“Congress did

not intend fair use to be an affirmative defense—a defense,

yes, but not an affirmative defense.”). Fair use is therefore

distinct from affirmative defenses where a use infringes a

misuse of a copyright, Practice Management Information

Corp. v. American Medical Ass’n, 121 F.3d 516, 520 (9th Cir.

1997), and laches, Danjaq LLC v. Sony Corp., 263 F.3d 942,

950–51 (9th Cir. 2001).

Universal concedes it must give due consideration to

other uses authorized by law such as compulsory licenses.

The introductory language in 17 U.S.C. § 112 for compulsory

licenses closely mirrors that in the fair use statute. Compare

17 U.S.C. § 112(a)(1) (“Notwithstanding the provisions of

section 106, . . . it is not an infringement of copyright for a

transmitting organization entitled to transmit to the public a

performance or display of a work . . . to make no more than

one copy or phonorecord of a particular transmission program

embodying the performance or display . . . .”), with id. § 107

(“Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A,

the fair use of a copyrighted work . . . is not an infringement

of copyright.”). That fair use may be labeled as an affirmative

defense due to the procedural posture of the case is no

different than labeling a license an affirmative defense for the

same reason. Compare Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.,

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC 15

510 U.S. 569, 573 & n.3, 590 (1994) (stating that “fair use is

an affirmative defense” where the district court converted a

motion to dismiss based on fair use into a motion for

summary judgment), with A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster,

Inc., 239 F.3d 1004, 1025–26 (9th Cir. 2001) (“Napster

contends that . . . the district court improperly rejected valid

affirmative defenses of . . . implied license . . . .”). Thus,

Universal’s argument that it need not consider fair use in

addition to compulsory licenses rings hollow.

Even if, as Universal urges, fair use is classified as an

“affirmative defense,” we hold—for the purposes of the

DMCA—fair use is uniquely situated in copyright law so as

to be treated differently than traditional affirmative defenses.

We conclude that because 17 U.S.C. § 107 created a type of

non-infringing use, fair use is “authorized by the law” and a

before sending a takedown notification under § 512(c).

We must next determine if a genuine issue of material

fact exists as to whether Universal knowingly misrepresented

that it had formed a good faith belief the video did not

constitute fair use. This inquiry lies not in whether a court

would adjudge the video as a fair use, but whether Universal

formed a good faith belief that it was not. Contrary to the

district court’s holding, Lenz may proceed under an actual

knowledge theory, but not under a willful blindness theory.

Though Lenz argues Universal should have known the

video qualifies for fair use as a matter of law, our court has

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC16

already decided a copyright holder need only form a

subjective good faith belief that a use is not authorized. Rossi

v. Motion Picture Ass’n of Am. Inc., 391 F.3d 1000 (9th Cir.

2004). In Rossi, we explicitly held that “the ‘good faith

belief’ requirement in § 512(c)(3)(A)(v) encompasses a

subjective, rather than objective standard.” Id. at 1004. We

further held:

In § 512(f), Congress included an expressly

limited cause of action for improper

infringement notifications, imposing liability

only if the copyright owner’s notification is a

knowing misrepresentation. A copyright

owner cannot be liable simply because an

unknowing mistake is made, even if the

making the mistake. Rather, there must be a

demonstration of some actual knowledge of

misrepresentation on the part of the copyright

owner.

Id. at 1004–05 (citations omitted). Neither of these holdings

are dictum. See United States v. Johnson, 256 F.3d 895, 914

(9th Cir. 2001) (en banc) (“[W]here a panel confronts an

issue germane to the eventual resolution of the case, and

resolves it after reasoned consideration in a published

opinion, that ruling becomes the law of the circuit, regardless

of whether doing so is necessary in some strict logical

sense.”).

As a result, Lenz’s request to impose a subjective

standard only with respect to factual beliefs and an objective

standard with respect to legal determinations is untenable.

Such a request grafts an objective standard onto

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC 17

§ 512(c)(3)(A)(v) directly in contravention to Rossi. See

Rossi, 391 F.3d at 1004 (“When enacting the DMCA,

Congress could have easily incorporated an objective

standard of reasonableness. The fact that it did not do so

indicates an intent to adhere to the subjective standard

traditionally associated with a good faith requirement.”). We

therefore judge Universal’s actions by the subjective beliefs

it formed about the video.

Universal faces liability if it knowingly misrepresented in

the takedown notification that it had formed a good faith

belief the video was not authorized by the law, i.e., did not

constitute fair use. Here, Lenz presented evidence that

Universal did not form any subjective belief about the video’s

fair use—one way or another— because it failed to consider

fair use at all, and knew that it failed to do so. Universal

nevertheless contends that its procedures, while not formally

labeled consideration of fair use, were tantamount to such

consideration. Because the DMCA requires consideration of

fair use prior to sending a takedown notification, a jury must

determine whether Universal’s actions were sufficient to form

a subjective good faith belief about the video’s fair use or

lack thereof.

To be clear, if a copyright holder ignores or neglects our

unequivocal holding that it must consider fair use before

sending a takedown notification, it is liable for damages

under § 512(f). If, however, a copyright holder forms a

subjective good faith belief the allegedly infringing material

does not constitute fair use, we are in no position to dispute

the copyright holder’s belief even if we would have reached

the opposite conclusion. A copyright holder who pays lip

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC18

service to the consideration of fair use by claiming it formed

a good faith belief when there is evidence to the contrary is

still subject to § 512(f) liability. Cf. Disney Enters., Inc. v.

Hotfile Corp., No. 11-cv-20427, 2013 WL 6336286, at *48

(S.D. Fla. Sept. 20, 2013) (denying summary judgment of

§ 512(f) counterclaim due to “sufficient evidence in the

record to suggest that [Plaintiff] Warner intentionally targeted

files it knew it had no right to remove”); Rosen v. Hosting

Servs., Inc., 771 F. Supp. 2d 1219, 1223 (C.D. Cal. 2010)

(denying summary judgment of § 512(f) counterclaim where

the takedown notification listed four URL links that did not

contain content matching the description of the purportedly

infringed material); Online Policy Grp. v. Diebold, Inc.,

337 F. Supp. 2d 1195, 1204–05 (N.D. Cal. 2004) (“[T]here is

no genuine issue of fact that Diebold knew—and indeed that

it specifically intended—that its letters to OPG and

Swarthmore would result in prevention of publication of that

content. . . . The fact that Diebold never actually brought suit

against any alleged infringer suggests strongly that Diebold

sought to use the DMCA’s safe harbor provisions—which

were designed to protect ISPs, not copyright holders—as a

sword to suppress publication of embarrassing content rather

than as a shield to protect its intellectual property.”).

In order to comply with the strictures of

§ 512(c)(3)(A)(v), a copyright holder’s consideration of fair

use need not be searching or intensive. We follow Rossi’s

guidance that formation of a subjective good faith belief does

not require investigation of the allegedly infringing content.

See 391 F.3d at 1003, 1005. We are mindful of the pressing

crush of voluminous infringing content that copyright holders

face in a digital age. But that does not excuse a failure to

comply with the procedures outlined by Congress. Cf. Lenz,

572 F. Supp. 2d at 1155 (“[I]n the majority of cases, a

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC 19

consideration of fair use prior to issuing a takedown notice

will not be so complicated as to jeopardize a copyright

owner’s ability to respond rapidly to potential infringements.

The DMCA already requires copyright owners to make an

initial review of the potentially infringing material prior to

sending a takedown notice; indeed, it would be impossible to

meet any of the requirements of Section 512(c) without doing

so. A consideration of the applicability of the fair use

doctrine simply is part of that initial review.”).

We note, without passing judgment, that the

implementation of computer algorithms appears to be a valid

and good faith middle ground for processing a plethora of

content while still meeting the DMCA’s requirements to

somehow consider fair use. Cf. Hotfile, 2013 WL 6336286,

at *47 (“The Court . . . is unaware of any decision to date that

actually addressed the need for human review, and the statute

does not specify how belief of infringement may be formed

or what knowledge may be chargeable to the notifying

entity.”). For example, consideration of fair use may be

sufficient if copyright holders utilize computer programs that

automatically identify for takedown notifications content

where: “(1) the video track matches the video track of a

copyrighted work submitted by a content owner; (2) the audio

track matches the audio track of that same copyrighted work;

and (3) nearly the entirety . . . is comprised of a single

copyrighted work.” Brief for The Org. for Transformative

Works, Public Knowledge & Int’l Documentary Ass’n as

Amici Curiae Supporting Appellee at 29–30 n.8 (citing the

Electronic Frontier Foundation website (link unavailable)).

Johnson to review the minimal remaining content a computer

program does not cull. See Brief for The Recording Indus.

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC20

Ass’n of Am. as Amici Curiae Supporting Appellants at 15

(“[T]he RIAA has an entire department dedicated to

identifying infringement and issuing takedown requests.”);

see also Hotfile, 2013 WL 6336286, at *14. During oral

argument Universal explained that service providers now use

screening algorithms. However, we need not definitively

decide the issue here because Universal did not proffer any

evidence that—at the time it sent the takedown notification to

Lenz—it used a computer program to identify potentially

infringing content.

We hold the willful blindness doctrine may be used to

determine whether a copyright holder “knowingly materially

misrepresent[ed]” that it held a “good faith belief” the

offending activity was not a fair use. See 17 U.S.C.

§ 512(c)(3)(A)(v), (f). “[T]he willful blindness doctrine may

be applied, in appropriate circumstances, to demonstrate

knowledge or awareness of specific instances of infringement

under the DMCA.” Viacom Int’l, Inc. v. YouTube, Inc.,

676 F.3d 19, 35 (2d Cir. 2012) (interpreting how a party can

establish the “actual knowledge”—a subjective belief—

required by § 512(c)(1)(A)(I)); see also UMG Recordings,

Inc. v. Shelter Capital Partners LLC, 718 F.3d 1006, 1023

(9th Cir. 2013) (“Of course, a service provider cannot

willfully bury its head in the sand to avoid obtaining such

specific knowledge.” (citing Viacom, 676 F.3d at 31)). But,

based on the specific facts presented during summary

judgment, we reject the district court’s conclusion that Lenz

may proceed to trial under a willful blindness theory.

To demonstrate willful blindness a plaintiff must establish

two factors: “(1) the defendant must subjectively believe that

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC 21

there is a high probability that a fact exists and (2) the

defendant must take deliberate actions to avoid learning of

that fact.” Global-Tech Appliances, Inc. v. SEB S.A., 131 S.

Ct. 2060, 2070 (2011). “Under this formulation, a willfully

blind defendant is one who takes deliberate actions to avoid

confirming a high probability of wrongdoing and who can

almost be said to have actually known the critical facts.” Id.

at 2070–71. To meet the Global-Tech test, Lenz must

demonstrate a genuine issue as to whether—before sending

the takedown notification—Universal (1) subjectively

believed there was a high probability that the video

constituted fair use, and (2) took deliberate actions to avoid

learning of this fair use.

On summary judgment Lenz failed to meet a threshold

showing of the first factor. To make such a showing, Lenz

must provide evidence from which a juror could infer that

Universal was aware of a high probability the video

constituted fair use. See United States v. Yi, 704 F.3d 800,

805 (9th Cir. 2013). But she failed to provide any such

evidence. The district court therefore correctly found that

“Lenz does not present evidence suggesting Universal

subjectively believed either that there was a high probability

any given video might make fair use of a Prince composition

or her video in particular made fair use of Prince’s song

‘Let’s Go Crazy.’” Yet the district court improperly denied

Universal’s motion for summary judgment on the willful

blindness theory because Universal “has not shown that it

lacked a subjective belief.” By finding blame with

Universal’s inability to show that it “lacked a subjective

belief,” the district court improperly required Universal to

meet its burden of persuasion, even though Lenz had failed to

counter the initial burden of production that Universal

successfully carried. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S.

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC22

317, 322 (1986); Nissan Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Fritz Cos.,

Inc., 210 F.3d 1099, 1102 (9th Cir. 2000). Lenz may not

therefore proceed to trial on a willful blindness theory.

Section 512(f) provides for the recovery of “any damages,

including costs and attorneys[’] fees, incurred by the alleged

infringer . . . who is injured by such misrepresentation, as the

result of the service provider relying upon such

misrepresentation in removing or disabling access to the

material or activity claimed to be infringing . . . .” 17 U.S.C.

§ 512(f). We hold a plaintiff may seek recovery of nominal

damages for an injury incurred as a result of a § 512(f)

misrepresentation.

Universal incorrectly asserts that Lenz must demonstrate

she incurred “actual monetary loss.” Section 512(k) provides

a definition for “monetary relief” as “damages, costs,

attorneys[’] fees, and any other form of monetary payment.”

The term “monetary relief” appears in § 512(a), (b)(1), (c)(1),

and (d), but is notably absent from § 512(f). As a result, the

damages an alleged infringer may recover under § 512(f)

from “any person” are broader than monetary relief.

Cf.

United States v. James, 478 U.S. 597, 605 (1986) (“Congress’

choice of the language ‘any damage’ . . . undercuts a narrow

construction.”), abrogated on other grounds by Cent. Green

Co. v. United States, 531 U.S. 425 (2001). Because Congress

specified the recovery of “any damages,” we reject

Title I of the DMCA specifies recovery for “actual damages.”

17 U.S.C. § 1203(c)(1)(A). If Congress intended to similarly limit the

recovery of § 512(f) damages to pecuniary losses, it could have chosen to

do so.

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC 23

Universal’s contention that Congress did not indicate its

intent to depart from the common law presumption that a

misrepresentation plaintiff must have suffered a monetary

loss. See Keene Corp. v. United States, 508 U.S. 200, 208

(1993) (“Where Congress includes particular language in one

section of a statute but omits it in another, it is generally

presumed that Congress acts intentionally and purposely in

the disparate inclusion or exclusion.” (quotation omitted)).

Lenz may seek recovery of nominal damages due to an

unquantifiable harm suffered as a result of Universal’s

actions.

The DMCA is akin to a statutorily created

intentional tort whereby an individual may recover nominal

damages for a “knowingly material misrepresent[ation] under

this section [512].” 17 U.S.C. § 512(f); cf. Memphis Cmty.

Sch. Dist. v. Stachura, 477 U.S. 299, 305 (1986) (“We have

repeatedly noted that 42 U.S.C. § 1983 creates a species of

tort liability in favor of persons who are deprived of rights,

privileges, or immunities secured to them by the Constitution.

Accordingly, when § 1983 plaintiffs seek damages for

violations of constitutional rights, the level of damages is

ordinarily determined according to principles derived from

the common law of torts.” (quotation and citations omitted)).

“In a number of common law actions associated with

intentional torts, the violation of the plaintiff’s right has

generally been regarded as a kind of legal damage in itself.

The plaintiff who proves an intentional physical tort to the

person or to property can always recover nominal damages.”

Lenz may not recover nominal damages for “impairment of free speech

rights.” No authority supports the recovery of nominal damages caused

by a private actor’s chilling of free speech rights. All of the cases Lenz

cites address challenges to governmental action.

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC24

3 Dan B. Dobbs et al., The Law of Torts § 480 (2d ed. 2011).

The tort need not be physical in order to recover nominal

damages. Defamation, for example, permits the recovery of

nominal damages:

A nominal damage award can be justified in a

tort action only if there is some reason for

awarding a judgment in favor of a claimant

who has not proved or does not claim a

compensable loss with sufficient certainty to

justify a recovery of compensatory or actual

damages. There may be such a reason in an

action for defamation, since a nominal

damage award serves the purpose of

vindicating the plaintiff’s character by a

verdict of the jury that establishes the falsity

of the defamatory matter.

W. Page Keeton et al., Prosser and Keeton on Torts § 116A,

at 845 (5th ed. 1984). Also, individuals may recover nominal

damages for trespass to land, even though the trespasser’s

“presence on the land causes no harm to the land [or] its

possessor . . . .” Restatement (Second) of Torts § 163 &

cmts. d, e (1965).

The district court therefore properly concluded in its 2010

order:

The use of “any damages” suggests strongly

Congressional intent that recovery be

available for damages even if they do not

amount to . . . substantial economic damages

. . . . Requiring a plaintiff who can [show

that the copyright holder knowingly

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC 25

misrepresented its subjective good faith] to

demonstrate in addition not only that she

suffered damages but also that those damages

were economic and substantial would vitiate

the deterrent effect of the statute.

Lenz v. Universal Music Corp., No. C 07-3783 JF, 2010 WL

702466, at *10 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 25, 2010). Relying on this

opinion, the Southern District of Florida held the same.

Hotfile, 2013 WL 6336286, at *48 (“[T]he Court observes

that the quantity of economic damages to Hotfile’s system is

necessarily difficult to measure with precision and has led to

much disagreement between the parties and their experts.

Notwithstanding this difficulty, the fact of injury has been

shown, and Hotfile’s expert can provide the jury with a

non-speculative basis to assess damages.”).

We agree that Lenz may vindicate her statutorily created

rights by seeking nominal damages. Because a jury has not

yet determined whether Lenz will prevail at trial, we need not

decide the scope of recoverable damages, i.e., whether she

may recover expenses following the initiation of her § 512(f)

suit or pro bono costs and attorneys’ fees, both of which arose

as a result of the injury incurred.

good faith and prior to sending a takedown notification—

whether allegedly infringing material constitutes fair use, a

use which the DMCA plainly contemplates as authorized by

the law. That this step imposes responsibility on copyright

holders is not a reason for us to reject it. Cf. Consumer Prod.

Safety Comm’n v. GTE Sylvania, Inc., 447 U.S. 102, 123–24

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC26

(1980) (“[A]ny increased burdens imposed on the

Commission as a result of its compliance with [the Consumer

Product Safety Act] were intended by Congress in striking an

appropriate balance between the interests of consumers and

the need for fairness and accuracy with respect to information

disclosed by the Commission. Thus, petitioners’ claim that

the Commission’s compliance with the requirements of [the

Act] will impose undue burdens on the Commission is

properly addressed to Congress, not to this Court.”). We

affirm the district court’s order denying the parties’ cross-

motions for summary judgment.

AFFIRMED. Each party shall bear its own costs.

M. SMITH, Circuit Judge, concurring in part, dissenting in

part, and concurring in the judgment:

I concur in all but Part IV.C of the majority opinion, and

concur in the judgment. Because I disagree with the

majority’s approach to three issues, I respectfully dissent

from Part IV.C.

First, I question whether § 512(f) directly prohibits a party

from misrepresenting that it has formed a good faith belief

that a work is subject to the fair use doctrine. I construe the

plain text of the statute to prohibit misrepresentations that a

work is infringing, not misrepresentations about the party’s

diligence in forming its belief that the work is infringing.

Second, I disagree that there is any material dispute about

whether Universal considered fair use. Because Universal

did not consider fair use, it may be held liable for

“knowingly” misrepresenting that the video was infringing,

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC 27

if it should be determined that the video is a non-infringing

fair use. Universal’s misrepresentation, if any, was knowing

because Universal knew it had not considered fair use, and

therefore knew it lacked a basis to conclude that the video

was infringing. Third, I do not believe that the willful

blindness doctrine applies where, as here, a party has failed

to consider fair use and affirmatively misrepresents that a

work is infringing.

I fully agree with the majority’s conclusion that

§ 512(c)(3)(A)(v) requires copyright holders to consider

whether potentially infringing material is a fair use before

issuing a takedown notice. As the majority opinion explains,

a takedown notice must contain “[a] statement that the

complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the

material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the

§ 512(c)(3)(A)(v). Because fair use of copyrighted material

is not an infringement of copyright, such use is “authorized

by . . . the law.” See id. § 107. Therefore, in order to form “a

good faith belief that use of the material in the manner

complained of is not authorized by . . . the law,” id.

§ 512(c)(3)(A)(v), a party must consider the doctrine of fair

use.

Where I part ways with the majority is in the proper

analysis of Universal’s misrepresentation. The majority

concludes that “Universal faces liability if it knowingly

misrepresented in the takedown notification that it had

formed a good faith belief the video was not authorized by

the law, i.e., did not constitute fair use.” An unstated premise

of this conclusion is that Universal impliedly represented that

it had considered fair use when it certified in its takedown

notification that it held a good faith belief that the video was

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC28

not authorized by the law. Under the majority’s approach,

Universal’s liability depends upon the truth or falsity of its

implied assertion that it held a good faith belief about

whether the video was a fair use.

However, I do not construe § 512(f) to directly prohibit a

party from falsely implying that it has considered fair use.

Cf. Rossi v. Motion Picture Ass’n of Am., Inc., 391 F.3d 1000,

1004–05 (9th Cir. 2004) (noting that § 512(f) is “an expressly

limited cause of action”). Section 512(f) provides that “[a]ny

person who knowingly materially misrepresents under this

section . . . that material or activity is infringing . . . shall be

liable for any damages.” (emphases added). The plain text of

the statute prohibits parties from misrepresenting that a work

is infringing, not from misrepresenting that they have

considered fair use.

In my view, the relevant representation in this case is

Universal’s assertion that the video is infringing. Universal’s

liability under § 512(f) depends initially on the disputed issue

of whether the video is subject to the fair use doctrine. If the

video is a fair use, Universal’s representation that the video

is infringing was false.

This does not end the inquiry, of course, because § 512(f)

only applies to “knowing[]” misrepresentations, not to

innocent or negligent misrepresentations. The majority

approach does not squarely address § 512(f)’s “knowingly”

requirement. In Rossi v. Motion Picture Association of

America Inc., we observed that “[a] copyright owner cannot

be liable [under § 512(f)] simply because an unknowing

mistake is made, even if the copyright owner acted

unreasonably in making the mistake. Rather, there must be

a demonstration of some actual knowledge of

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC 29

misrepresentation on the part of the copyright owner.”

391 F.3d at 1005 (citation omitted) (emphasis added).

Universal urges us to construe Rossi to mean that a party

must subjectively believe that the fact it asserts is false in

order to be liable under § 512(f). If this is indeed the

meaning of Rossi, it is difficult to see how Lenz can possibly

prevail.

Section 512(f)’s “knowingly” requirement should not be

construed this restrictively. Universal may be held liable for

knowingly misrepresenting that the video was infringing if,

knowing it had not considered whether the video was a fair

use, it erroneously asserted that it was infringing. A party

cannot truthfully represent that a work subject to the fair use

doctrine is infringing if the party has knowingly failed to

consider whether the doctrine applies. Section 107 plainly

states that “the fair use of a copyrighted work . . . is not an

infringement of copyright.” The requirement that a party

hold a “good faith” belief that “the infringing material is not

authorized by the law” would be rendered meaningless if

parties could wholly omit to consider whether the material

was a fair use, and was therefore not an “infringing material”

at all.

This reading of § 512(f) does not conflict with our

decision in Rossi. A party that knowingly fails to consider

The majority opinion implies that Universal would be liable if its

actions were not sufficient to form a good faith belief about fair use, and

that this is a disputed issue for the jury. But if Universal’s proposed

construction of Rossi is correct, Universal would not be liable merely

because its actions were not sufficient to form a good faith belief about

fair use. Instead, it would only be liable if it knew its actions were not

sufficient. Otherwise, Universal would not have “knowingly”

misrepresented that it had formed a good faith belief about fair use.

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC30

fair use before erroneously asserting that a work is infringing

has “some actual knowledge of misrepresentation,” Rossi,

391 F.3d at 1005, because the party knows that, having failed

to consider fair use, it lacks a basis to assert that the work is

infringing.

This construction of “knowingly” is consistent with

common law principles of deceit and fraudulent

misrepresentation. Under these principles, a

misrepresentation is knowing if the party knows it is ignorant

of the truth or falsity of its representation. For example, in

Cooper v. Schlesinger, 111 U.S. 148, 155 (1884), the

Supreme Court stated that “a statement recklessly made,

without knowledge of its truth, [is] a false statement

knowingly made, within the settled rule.” See also Sovereign

Pocahontas Co. v. Bond, 120 F.2d 39, 39–40 (D.C. Cir.

1941); Knickerbocker Merch. Co. v. United States, 13 F.2d

544, 546 (2d Cir. 1926); L J Mueller Furnace Co. v. Cascade

Foundry Co., 145 F. 596, 600 (3d Cir. 1906); Hindman v.

First Nat’l Bank, 112 F. 931, 944 (6th Cir. 1902).

Construing “knowingly” to include assertions made in

conscious ignorance of their truth or falsity is also consistent

with the principles of the Second Restatement of Torts. The

Second Restatement provides that “[a] misrepresentation is

fraudulent if the maker (a) knows or believes that the matter

is not as he represents it to be, (b) does not have the

confidence in the accuracy of his representation that he states

or implies, or (c) knows that he does not have the basis for his

representation that he states or implies.” Restatement

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC 31

(Second) of Torts § 526 (emphasis added).

Under these

principles, Universal faces liability if it misrepresented that

the video was infringing, knowing that it lacked a basis to

conclude that the video was not a fair use.

It is undisputed that Universal did not consider fair use

before sending the takedown notice. Its policy was to send

takedown notices if “the composition was the focus of the

video,” that is, where “[t]he music [was] prominently featured

in the video.” I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that

there is a factual dispute regarding whether applying this

policy in this case could have been “sufficient to form a

subjective good faith belief about the video’s fair use or lack

thereof.” Section 107 explicitly enumerates the factors to be

considered in assessing whether a work is a fair use.

17 U.S.C. § 107. Universal’s policy of determining whether

“the composition was the focus of the video” simply did not

permit it to form an opinion about how the fair use factors

applied to the video.

Moreover, Universal knew it lacked a

The Second Restatement refers to “fraudulent misrepresentation,”

rather than “knowing” misrepresentation. See Restatement (Second) of

Torts § 526. However, as the Restatement clarifies, the requirement that

a misrepresentation be “fraudulent” “solely” refers to the party’s

knowledge of misrepresentation. Compare id. cmt. a. (“The word

‘fraudulent’ is here used as referring solely to the maker’s knowledge of

the untrue character of his representation. This element of the defendant’s

conduct frequently is called ‘scienter’ by the courts.”), with Rossi,

391 F.3d at 1005 (“[T]here must be a demonstration of some actual

knowledge of misrepresentation on the part of the copyright owner.”). It

is therefore instructive to examine the Restatement definition of

“fraudulent” in construing the meaning of “knowingly.”

The majority opinion implies that a copyright holder could form a good

faith belief that a work was not a fair use by utilizing computer programs

that automatically identify possible infringing content. I agree that such

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC32

basis to conclude that the work was infringing, because it

knew that if this video was a fair use, it was not infringing.

Section 107 states as much explicitly. Id.

The sole disputed issue in this case was whether

Universal’s representation that the video was infringing was

false–that is, whether the video was a fair use. Universal

knew that a fair use was not infringing, knew that it had not

considered fair use, and nonetheless asserted that the video

was infringing. Universal may be held to account if the video

was not infringing, because it knew it lacked a basis to assert

that it was.

I also have doubts about whether the willful blindness

doctrine is relevant to analyzing whether a misrepresentation

is “knowing[]” under § 512(f). The doctrine was originally

applied to “criminal statutes requir[ing] proof that a

defendant acted knowingly or willfully.” See Global-Tech

Appliances, Inc. v. SEB S.A., 131 S. Ct. 2060, 2068 (2011).

Courts reasoned that defendants could not avoid criminal

liability under such statutes “by deliberately shielding

themselves from clear evidence of critical facts that are

programs may be useful in identifying infringing content. However, the

record does not disclose whether these programs are currently capable of

analyzing fair use. Section 107 specifically enumerates the factors to be

considered in analyzing fair use. These include: “the purpose and

character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature

or is for nonprofit educational purposes”; “the nature of the copyrighted

work”; “the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the

copyrighted work as a whole”; and “the effect of the use upon the

potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.” 17 U.S.C. § 107.

For a copyright holder to rely solely on a computer algorithm to form a

good faith belief that a work is infringing, that algorithm must be capable

of applying the factors enumerated in § 107.

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC 33

strongly suggested by the circumstances.” Id. at 2068–69.

Federal courts have applied the doctrine to non-criminal

statutes that include a requirement that a party have acted

knowingly or willfully, including intellectual property

statutes. See id. at 2068–71 (active inducement of patent

infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 271(b)); Viacom Int’l, Inc. v.

YouTube, Inc., 676 F.3d 19, 34–35 (2d Cir. 2012) (“actual

knowledge” under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)’s safe harbor

provision); In re Aimster Copyright Litig., 334 F.3d 643,

650–51 (7th Cir. 2003) (contributory infringement of

1998) (“willful” copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C.

§ 504(c)(2)). It does not necessarily follow, however, that we

should apply the doctrine to construe § 512(f). Section 512(f)

creates a statutory misrepresentation action, and it is likely

Congress intended the action to mirror analogous common

law torts like fraud, deceit, and misrepresentation. Therefore,

we should examine common law tort principles to construe

“knowingly,” rather than import a doctrine that developed

from the criminal law. As I explain above, common law

principles of misrepresentation establish that a

misrepresentation is knowing if the party knows it is ignorant

of the truth or falsity of its representation.

Because the common law of torts already provides ample

insight into what Congress meant by “knowingly,” there is no

need to also apply the more stringent, and confusing, willful

blindness test. To demonstrate willful blindness a plaintiff

must establish two factors: “(1) the defendant must

subjectively believe that there is a high probability that a fact

exists and (2) the defendant must take deliberate actions to

avoid learning of that fact.” Global-Tech, 131 S. Ct. at 2070.

It makes little sense in this case to ask whether Universal

subjectively believed that there was a high probability the

LENZ V. UNIVERSAL MUSIC34

video was a fair use. The evidence was that Universal

knowingly failed to form any belief about whether the video

was fair use. This suffices to satisfy § 512(f)’s requirement

that the misrepresentation be “knowing[].”

In sum, I would hold that parties must individually

consider whether a work is a fair use before representing that

the work is infringing in a takedown notice. If they do not,

and the work is a non-infringing fair use, they are subject to

liability for knowingly misrepresenting that the work is

infringing.

For the foregoing reasons, I respectfully dissent in part.