Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University v. Associated Business Consultants, Inc., Templeton (clarejane), Estate of Barnabas (bentley), 892 F.2d 86 (10th Cir. 1989)

Alexander B. Mitchell, of Klenda, Mitchell, Austerman & Zuercher, Wichita, Kansas, for Defendants/Appellants.

Lindsey Miller-Lerman, of Kutak Rock & Campbell, Omaha, Nebraska (Michael W. Jahnke, Of Kutak Rock & Campbell, Omaha, Nebraska, with her on the brief) for Plaintiff/Appellee.

Before MOORE, Circuit Judge, EBEL, Circuit Judge, and Phillips^** , District Judge.

PHILLIPS, District Judge.

This is a copyright infringement suit involving a copyright on vocational interest testing materials. Following a non-jury trial the plaintiff Stanford prevailed before the district court and was awarded $7,000 in damages, a permanent injunction, and attorney fees and costs.

The trial court, in its July 10, 1987 Opinion And Order found that defendants/appellants, in issuing their vocational interest survey known as 'A Survey of Your Occupational Interest', infringed the copy- right on Stanford's vocatioal interest test known as 'Form M.' The trial court specifically found, inter alia, that appellants copied Form M's questions and scoring scales in connection with the prepara- tion and distribution of their own survey. The district court found appellants' survey to by nothing more than a paraphrase of Stanford's Form M.

Appellants challenge the decision of the district court on several grounds. We find no error in the district court's finding that appellants' survey was nothing more than a paraphrase of Stanford's Form M. We also find no reversible error in appellants' other content- tions. Having carefully reviewed the record, we AFFIRM the district court's decision for substantially the same reasons set forth in the July 10, 1987 Opinion And Order.

Entered by the Court

LAYN R. PHILLIPS

District Judge