How many times has your company been accused of copyright infringement and you just did not think that the two works were that close? If it happens again, litigation in the 2nd Circuit may be an attractive option.

Following Peter F. Gaito Architecture, LLC v. Simone Dev. Corp., 602 F.3d 57 (2d Cir. 2010), district court judges are willing to dismiss copyright cases based on a lack of substantial similarity, even before there has been any discovery.

Most recently, in Stiles v. HarperCollins Publishers LLC, No. 10 Civ. 2605 (SHS), 2011 WL 3426673 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 5, 2011), Judge Stein dismissed the case before discovery because the works at issue were not substantially similar.