## Facts

- Castle Rock Entertainment owned the copyrights in each episode of the television series *Seinfeld*, a fictional, creative work built around plots, characters, and dialogue.
- Beth B. Golub authored *The Seinfeld Aptitude Test*, a 132-page trivia book published by Carol Publishing Group containing 643 questions and answers about *Seinfeld*.
- Golub created the book by watching and reviewing *Seinfeld* episodes and extracting details, including plot points, character traits, and dialogue; the book drew on 84 episodes.
- Many questions and correct answers were anchored in specific episodes and at times reproduced dialogue or distinctive situations; incorrect answer choices were original.
- Castle Rock did not license or authorize the book and sued for copyright infringement and unfair competition.
- Castle Rock moved for summary judgment on infringement and unfair competition; defendants cross-moved for summary judgment asserting, among other defenses, fair use and de minimis or unprotectable “facts” copying.

## Issues

1. Whether the trivia book copied protectable expression from *Seinfeld* and was substantially similar so as to infringe Castle Rock’s copyrights.
2. Whether defendants’ use qualified as fair use under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
3. Whether Castle Rock was entitled to summary judgment on its state-law unfair competition claim.

## Decision

- The court granted Castle Rock summary judgment on copyright infringement.
- The court rejected defendants’ fair-use defense, concluding the book was an unauthorized derivative work rather than a protected fair use.
- The court denied Castle Rock summary judgment on unfair competition due to disputed material facts.

## Legal Principles

- Content from a fictional television series—plots, characters, and dialogue—constitutes protectable expression; treating such material as mere “facts” about a fictional world does not avoid infringement.
- Substantial similarity can be shown where a defendant systematically extracts and reproduces expressive elements from many episodes; aggregation of numerous small borrowings may be substantial in quantity and quality.
- Fair use under 17 U.S.C. § 107 requires evaluation of: (1) purpose and character (including whether the use is meaningfully transformative and whether it is commercial), (2) nature of the copyrighted work (creative works receive strong protection), (3) amount and substantiality taken, and (4) market effect, including harm to reasonably anticipated derivative markets.
- A commercial “companion” product that minimally transforms a highly creative work, takes substantial expressive material, and threatens the copyright owner’s potential market for licensed derivative products weighs against fair use.

## Conclusion

The court held that an unauthorized *Seinfeld* trivia book infringed Castle Rock’s copyrights and was not protected by fair use because it commercially repackaged substantial creative expression with little transformation and posed a risk to potential licensed derivative markets; the unfair competition claim required further factual development.


Castle Rock Ent., Inc. v. Carol Publ'g Grp., Inc., 955 F. Supp. 260 (S.D.N.Y. 1997)