ST. LOUIS –– A federal judge denied a motion to dismiss a copyright infringement lawsuit involving coloring books.
But in her Aug. 24 order, Judge Jean Hamilton of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri hinted the coloring books may be considered "joint works."
The lawsuit stems from a 2012 agreement for Really Big Coloring Books (RBCB) to design, manufacture and deliver a number of dental-themed coloring books for Delta Dental of California.
According to court documents, the books included illustrated short stories on the benefits of dental hygiene, word searches, puzzles and mazes. Dental supplied text for the coloring books.
RBCB secured copyright registrations for each of the five coloring books that are subject of the lawsuit.
RBCB says Delta Dental requested to buy the rights to the books, because of rising printing costs. RBCB did not agree and purchase orders slowed until ending in December 2017.
That's when Delta Dental began copying the books themselves without even removing the copyright notice on the copies, RBCB claims.
Although the judge dismissed Delta Dental's motion to dismiss, she did so without prejudice so Delta Dental may reassert the joint works issue on a motion for summary judgment.