ANTHONY E. MCNAMER, OSB #00138
P.c.
920 S.W. Third Avenue, Suite 100Portland, Oregon 97204Telephone: (503) 727-2500Facsimile: (503) 727-2501Attorneys for Plaintiffs
Fl
LED
22
FEB
J
12
i
2~26USDC{iRP
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTDISTRICT OF OREGONPORTLAND DIVISION
SIMON TAM,
an
individual, and
AARONMOXLEY,
an
individual,Case No.
CV
'12
-
031
2 -
HU
PLAINTIFFS, PLAINTIFFS' COMPLAINT
FOR
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
v.
17
U.S.c.
§
101
et seq.
NAMCO BANDAI GAMES AMERICAINC.,
a Delaware corporation,
NAMCO AND DEMAND
FOR JURY TRIAL
BANDAI HOLDINGS (USA) INC.,
a
Delaware corporation, and
TOEIANIMATION INCORPORATED,
a
California corporation,
DEFENDANTS.COMPLAINT
Plaintiffs Simon Tam and Aaron Moxley for their complaint against defendants NAMCOBANDAl Games America Inc., BANDAl Holdings (USA) Inc., and TOEI AnimationIncorporated allege
as
follows:
Page
1-
PLAINTIFFS' COMPLAINT
MCNAM
ER
AND
COMPANY P.c.
920 S.W.Third
Avenue'
Suite 100Portland, Oregon 97204 . (503) 727·2500
Case 3:12-cv-00312-HU Document 1 Filed 02/22/12 Page 1 of 5 Page ID#: 1
•
1
THE
PARTIES
1.
Plaintiffs Simon Tam and Aaron Moxley (collectively hereinafter "Plaintiffs") areindividuals residing in Portland, Oregon and performing as the musical group The Slants.2. Defendant NAMCQ BANDAI Games America Inc. is a Delaware corporationwith offices in San Jose, California.3. Defendant NAMCO BANDA! HOLDINGS (USA) INC. is a Delawarecorporation with offices
in
Cypress, California.4. Defendant TOE! Animation Incorporated is a California corporation with officesin Los Angeles, California.
.JURISDICTION
AND
VENUE
5. This is a civil action seeking damages and injunctive relief for copyrightinfringement under the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.c.
§§
101
et seq.,
and for state law claims.
6.
This Court has original subject matter jurisdiction pursuant
to
28 U.S.c.
§§
1331and 1338(a) and supplemental jurisdiction pursuant
to
28 U.S.c.
§
1367. The Court has pendantjurisdiction over the state law claims in that such claims flow from a common nucleus
of
operative facts.
7.
Venue is proper
in
this District pursuant
to
28 U.S.c.
§§
1391(b), (c) and (d) and1400(a), in that all Defendants reside for venue purposes
in
this District, and are subject
to
personal jurisdiction
in
this District, and that a substantial part
of
the events giving rise
to
thisclaim occurred
in
this District.
GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
8. Plaintiffs are a popular musical group who perform locally and throughout theUnited States as The Slants. Plaintiffs are also very well known
in
the anime community andhave performed and participated at various anime conferences on panels with representatives
of
each
of
the Defendants.
Page 2 -PLAINTIFFS' COMPLAINT
MCNAMER AND
COMPANY
P.C.
920 S.W. Third
Avenue'
Suite 100Portland, Oregon
97204'
(503) 727-2500
Case 3:12-cv-00312-HU Document 1 Filed 02/22/12 Page 2 of 5 Page ID#: 2
9.
In 2007, Plaintiffs authored a song entitled "Kokoro," which consists
of
whollyoriginal copyrightable matter under the law
of
the United States. A claim
of
copyright in themusical composition for "Kokoro" was registered and recorded in favor
of
Plaintiffs. Thecopyright registration for "Kokoro" (among other works) is dated January 26, 2009 andidentified as follows: Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts, Registration No. PA0001639886. Thecopyright is for music. A true and correct copy
of
the relevant copyright office record is attachedhereto as Exhibit
A.
10. In or about 2011, Defendants released the video game Dragon Ball Z UltimateTenkaichi for PS3 and Xbox 360 players (hereinafter "Dragon Ball Z"). Dragon Ball Z is basedupon one
of
the most successful anime series and manga series
of
all time"DragonBall," whichhas spawned a multitude
of
merchandise and products, including the above-referenced game.11. Soon after Dragon Ball
Z's
release, Plaintiffs' fans began alerting Plaintiffs
to
thefact that Dragon Ball Z uses music substantially similar
to
Plaintiffs' copyrighted song"Kokoro." Indeed upon investigation, it appears that Defendants used the main riff
of
"Kokoro"in its entirety in Dragon Ball
Z.
12. Defendants have copied, created a derivative sound recording of, and publiclyperformed Plaintiffs' copyrighted work "Kokoro," without any right or license therefore.
CLAIM FOR RELIEF
Direct Copyright Infringement -All Defendants
13. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference each
of
the allegations in the precedingparagraphs
of
the Complaint as though fully set forth here.14. Defendants, without Plaintiffs' consent or permission, and without authority: i)made, have caused to be made, and have purported
to
authorize the making
of
copies
of
thePlaintiffs' copyrighted work; ii) made, have caused to be made, and purported
to
authorize themaking
of
unauthorized derivative works
of
Plaintiffs' copyrighted work; iii) publicly performedand purported
to
authorize the public performance
of
Plaintiffs' copyrighted work; and iv) made,have caused
to
be made, and purported
to
authorize the making
of
a synchronization
of
Page 3 -PLAINTIFFS'
COMPlAINT
MCNAMER
AND
COMPANY
P.C.
920 S.
W.
Third
Avenue·
Suite 100Portland, Oregon
97204'
(503) 727-2500
Case 3:12-cv-00312-HU Document 1 Filed 02/22/12 Page 3 of 5 Page ID#: 3
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