DC Comics v. Mark Towle et al

Filing 16

REQUEST FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE re MOTION to Dismiss First Cause of Action for Copyright Infringement 15 and Exhibits thereto filed by Defendant Mark Towle. (Zerner, Lawrence)

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Larry Zerner (SBN 155473)
ZernerLaw
1801 Century Park East, Suite 2400
Los Angeles, California 90067
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
Attorney for Defendant Mark Towle,
An individual and d/b/a Gotham Garage

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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DC Comics,

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Plaintiff,
v.
Mark Towle, an individual and d/b/a
Gotham Garage, and Does 1 – 10,
inclusive,
Defendants.

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Case No. CV11-3934 RSWL (OPx)
REQUEST FOR JUDICIAL
NOTICE
HEARING DATE: January 25, 2012
TIME: 10:00 a.m.
COURTROOM: 21
BEFORE THE HONORABLE
RONALD S.W. LEW

Pursuant to Federal Rules of Evidence 201, Defendant Mark Towle
respectfully requests that the Court take judicial notice of the following items.
1. Photographs of the Batmobile from the 1966 Television Series (Exhibit 1).

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2. Photographs of the Batmobile from the 1989 Motion Picture (Exhibit 2).

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3. Photographs of the Batmobile from the 1995 Motion Picture (Exhibit 3).

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4. Copyright Registration Record for the “Hi, Diddle Riddle” episode of the

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1966 Batman Television Series (Exhibit 4).

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5. Copyright Registration Record for the 1989 Batman Motion Picture

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(Exhibit 5).
6. Copyright Registration Record for the 1989 Batman Motion Picture
(Exhibit 6).

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7. Copyright Registration Record for the 1995 Batman Forever Motion
Picture (Exhibit 7).
8. Copyright Registration Record for the 1997 Batman & Robin Motion

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Picture (Exhibit 8).
9. Copyright Registration Record for the 2008 Dark Knight Motion Picture
(Exhibit 9).

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10. Pages from the comic book Batman #170 (March 1965) which depict the
Batmobile (Exhibit 10).
11.Pages from the comic book Detective #337 (March 1965) which depict the

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Batmobile (Exhibit 11).
12. Design Patent 205,998 for the 1966 Batmobile (Exhibit 12).
13. Design Patent 311,882 for the 1989 Batmobile (Exhibit 13).

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14.Design Patent 375,704 for the 1995 Batmobile (Exhibit 14).
Federal Rule of Evidence 201(b) provides that a court may take judicial notice
of a fact “not subject to reasonable dispute in that it is either (1) generally known

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within the territorial jurisdiction of the trial court or (2) capable of accurate and
ready determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot be reasonably
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REQUEST FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE

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questioned.” Accordingly, this Court can and should consider them in deciding
Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction.

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As Plaintiff has alleged the Batmobiles are extremely famous vehicles and
recognizable the world over, the court can take judicial notice of these photographs

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of these vehicles as there is no dispute as to what they look like.
Similarly, with regard to the comic books, Plaintiff specifically referenced
them in Exhibit A to the FAC and therefore the court may review them. Documents

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not physically attached to the complaint may nonetheless be considered by the court

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on a 12(b)(6) motion if (1) the complaint refers to such document; (2) the document

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is central to plaintiff’s claim; and (3) no party questions the authenticity of the copy

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attached to the 12(b)(6) motion. Branch v. Tunnell, 14 F.3d 449, 454 (9th Cir. 1994);
Chambers v. Time Warner, Inc. 282 F.3d 147, 153, fn. 3 (2nd Cir. 2002).
With regard to the copyright records and the patent records, the court may

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properly consider matters of public record. All of the copyright registrations and
patent registrations are matters of public record and the court may therefore take
judicial notice of them.

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Accordingly, this Court can and should consider all of these documents in
deciding Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss.
Based upon the foregoing, this Court can and should take judicial notice of

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each of the documents described above and attached as exhibits hereto.

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REQUEST FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE

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Date: December 16, 2011

Law Office of Larry Zerner

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By: _/Larry Zerner/___________________
Larry Zerner
Attorney for Plaintiff

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REQUEST FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE

EXHIBIT 1
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Exhibit 1

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Exhibit 11

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