11th Cir. Pattern Jury Instr. (Civil) 9.27

[Name of defendant] claims that [name of plaintiff] granted him a license to

use [name of plaintiff]’s copyrighted work. A license is a contract giving someone

permission to use the work. A license doesn’t have to be in writing. Rather, as

alleged here, a license can be implied from conduct. To establish this defense,

[name of defendant] must prove each of the following by a preponderance of the

evidence:

First you must find that [name of plaintiff] created the work, or caused it to

be created, at [name of defendant]’s request or the request of someone acting on

[name of defendant]’s behalf.

Second, you must find that [name of plaintiff] delivered the work, or caused

it to be delivered, to [name of defendant] or someone acting on [name of

defendant]’s behalf.

And third, you must find that [name of plaintiff] intended that [name of

defendant] [insert exclusive rights allegedly violated (i.e., copy, distribute, publicly

display, publicly perform, or create derivative works based upon)] [his/her/its]

copyrighted work. [Name of plaintiff]’s intent may be inferred from the work’s

nature or the circumstances surrounding the work’s creation.

If you find that [name of defendant] has proved these elements by a

preponderance of the evidence, your verdict must be for [name of defendant] on

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the claim of copyright infringement if [name of defendant]’s use doesn’t exceed

the scope of the [his/her/its] license. [Name of defendant] can still commit

copyright infringement if [he/she/it] exceeded the scope of the license.

SPECIAL INTERROGATORIES TO THE JURY

1. Did [name of plaintiff] create the copyrighted work at issue, or

cause it to be created, at [name of defendant]’s request or the request of

someone acting on [name of defendant]’s behalf?

Answer Yes or No _____________

If the answer to the above question is “Yes,” answer the next

question; if not, you should stop here.

2. Did [name of plaintiff] deliver the copyrighted work at issue, or

cause it to be delivered, to [name of defendant] or someone acting on [name

of defendant]’s behalf?

Answer Yes or No _____________

If the answer to the above question is “Yes,” answer the next

question; if not, you should stop here.

3. Did [name of plaintiff] intend that [name of defendant] [insert

exclusive rights allegedly violated (i.e., copy, distribute, publicly display,

publicly perform, or create derivative works based upon)] his copyrighted

work?

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