The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has tossed out an injunction against sales of a book by Commerce Bank founder Vernon Hill II even after finding that the work infringed on a copyright owned by TD Bank.

The permanent injunction entered against Hill's book was overly broad because TD Bank had no intention of publishing its own book, but was granted an injunction based on a violation of its “right not to use the copyright,” the appeals court said, describing dealings between the two parties as “beset by acrimony.” The appeals court remanded the case to the U.S. District Court for further proceedings consistent with the ruling.

The decision reverses a 2016 ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler, who ordered Hill to stop selling his book, “Fans! Not Customers—How to Create Growth Companies in a No Growth World.” Kugler found in 2015 that Hill's book infringed on TD Bank's copyright of a manuscript written by Hill in 2007 discussing his career in banking. Kugler declined to issue an injunction at that time but did so in 2016 based on new evidence that Hill was promoting his book.

Hill sold his Commerce Bank to TD Bank in 2007 for $8.5 billion. In 2006 he began writing a book about his business philosophy and tenure at Commerce Bank. Commerce Bank hired a collaborator to work with Hill on the manuscript and also entered into an agreement with Portfolio, a division of Penguin Books. After Commerce was acquired by TD Bank, the work was never published.

But in 2010, after Hill published “Fans! Not Customers,” TD Bank registered Hill's 2007 manuscript with the Copyright Office and sent takedown notices to retailers. It also filed suit against Hill in the District of New Jersey for copyright infringement.

The litigation revealed that at most 16% of Hill's book infringed the 2007 manuscript, and that TD Bank never published the 2007 manuscript and had no intention to do so, the appeals court said.

The District Court's permanent injunction “exceed[ed] the bounds of its discretion” by relying on “broad propositions” instead of engaging in a “context-specific analysis,” Judge Cheryl Ann Krause wrote for the appeals court, joined by Judges Robert Cowen and Julio Fuentes.

The appeals court said that Kugler abused his discretion by relying on Hill's violation of the “right not to use a copyright” to show that TD Bank would suffer irreparable harm from the publishing of the book.

A public-interest analysis dictated that the injunction was overbroad, the appeals court added. Copyright law generally does not invite First Amendment scrutiny, but the Supreme Court has recognized the public interest in accessing works of public interest.

“Hill may perhaps not be the next prize-winning, or even best-selling, business-book author,” Krause wrote for the panel. “But he has a story to tell and readers eager to learn from him. This injunction deprived the American public of the ability to purchase this book from any lawful source for the foreseeable future.”

Howard Hogan of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Washington, D.C., who represented Hill, issued a statement about the ruling.

“Mr. Hill is gratified to see that the Court of Appeals unanimously and categorically vindicated his First Amendment right to tell his story and to educate readers who are eager to learn from him. The decision correctly concluded that whatever spurred TD Bank to bankroll this copyright litigation, it was not a desire to protect anything of commercial value,” Hogan said in an email message.

Matthew Doherty, a vice president and corporate communications manager for TD Bank, said the company does not comment on litigation.