US-CA9 · jury_instructions
9th Cir. Model Jury Instr. (Civil) 17.26
Copyright—Affirmative Defense—Implied License
The defendant [name] contends that [he] [she] [other pronoun] is not liable for copyright infringement because the plaintiff [name] granted [him] [her] [other pronoun] an implied license in the plaintiff [name]’s copyrighted work. The plaintiff [name] cannot claim copyright infringement against a defendant [name] who [copies] [distributes] [uses] [modifies] [retains] the plaintiff [name]’s copyrighted work if the plaintiff [name] granted the defendant [name] an implied license to [copy] [distribute] [use] [modify] [retain] the work.
To show the existence of an implied license, the defendant has the burden of proving that:
First, the defendant [name] requested that the plaintiff [name] create a work;
Second, the plaintiff [name] made that particular work and delivered it to the defendant; and
Third, the plaintiff [name] intended that the defendant [name] [[copy] [distribute] [use] [modify] [retain]] the plaintiff [name]’s work.
If you find that the defendant [name] has proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the plaintiff [name] granted [him] [her] [other pronoun] an implied license to [copy] [distribute] [use] [modify] [retain] the copyrighted work, your verdict should be for the defendant [name] [on that portion of the plaintiff [name]’s copyright infringement claim].
Provenance
- Source
- ce9.uscourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-08-20
- Edition
- 2026-08-20
- Content hash
41c506fa8b46c5cf768310a825092bd6cfef21b73752fff53c0fe5d02c365c8e
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