CAROL WILSON FINE ARTS, INC. V. ZIFEN QIAN, No. 15-35032 (9th Cir. 2016)

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NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FILED DEC 21 2016 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT CAROL WILSON FINE ARTS, INC., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. U.S. COURT OF APPEALS No. 15-35032 D.C. No. 3:14-cv-00587-AA MEMORANDUM* ZIFEN QIAN, Defendant-Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Oregon Ann L. Aiken, District Judge, Presiding Submitted December 14, 2016** Before: WALLACE, LEAVY, and FISHER, Circuit Judges. Zifen Qian appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment in favor of Carol Wilson Fine Arts, Inc.’s in relation to its copyright action brought against Qian. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo. Funky Films, Inc. v. Time Warner Entm’t Co., 462 F,3d 1072, 1076 (9th Cir. 2006). We * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). affirm. The district court properly granted summary judgment on Carol Wilson Fine Arts, Inc.’s declaratory judgment claim because Qian failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether the paintings were created as works for hire for Carol Wilson Fine Arts, Inc. See 17 U.S.C. § 101(1) (a work made for hire is, among other things, “a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment’), § 201(b) (in the case of a work made for hire, the employer is considered the author of the copyright, unless the parties have expressly agreed otherwise in a written instrument signed by them); Cmty. for Creative NonViolence v. Reid, 490 U.S. 730, 738-39 (1989) (discussing the nature of the “work made for hire” doctrine). AFFIRMED. 2 15-35032

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