Cite as 508 F.3d 1146 (9th Cir. 2007)
Accordingly, we disagree with the district court’s conclusion that because Google’s use of the thumbnails could supersede Perfect 10’s cell phone download use and because the use was more commercial than Arriba’s, this fair use factor weighed “slightly” in favor of Perfect 10. Perfect 10, 416 F.Supp.2d at 849. Instead, we conclude that the transformative nature of Google’s use is more significant than any incidental superseding use or the minor commercial aspects of Google’s search engine and website. Therefore, this factor weighs heavily in favor of Google.
The nature of the copyrighted work. With respect to the second factor, “the nature of the copyrighted work,” 17 U.S.C. § 107(2), our decision in Kelly is directly on point. There we held that the photographer’s images were “creative in nature” and thus “closer to the core of intended copyright protection than are more fact-based works.” Kelly, 336 F.3d at 820 (internal quotation omitted). However, because the photos appeared on the Internet before Arriba used thumbnail versions in its search engine results, this factor weighed only slightly in favor of the photographer. Id.
Here, the district court found that Perfect 10’s images were creative but also previously published. Perfect 10, 416 F.Supp.2d at 850. The right of first publication is “the author’s right to control the first public appearance of his expression.” Harper & Row, 471 U.S. at 564, 105 S.Ct. 2218. Because this right encompasses “the choices of when, where, and in what form first to publish a work,” id., an author exercises and exhausts this one-time right by publishing the work in any medium. See, e.g., Batjac Prods. Inc. v. Good-Times Home Video Corp., 160 F.3d 1223, 1235 (9th Cir.1998) (noting, in the context of the common law right of first publication, that such a right “does not entail multiple first publication rights in every available medium”). Once Perfect 10 has exploited this commercially valuable right of first publication by putting its images on the Internet for paid subscribers, Perfect 10 is no longer entitled to the enhanced protection available for an unpublished work. Accordingly the district court did not err in holding that this factor weighed only slightly in favor of Perfect 10.[1] See Perfect 10, 416 F.Supp.2d at 849–50.
The amount and substantiality of the portion used. “The third factor asks whether the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole … are reasonable in relation to the purpose of the copying.” Campbell, 510 U.S. at 586, 114 S.Ct. 1164 (internal quotation omitted); see also 17 U.S.C. § 107(3). In Kelly, we held Arriba’s use of the entire photographic image was reasonable in light of the purpose of a search engine. Kelly, 336 F.3d at 821. Specifically, we noted, “[i]t was necessary for Arriba to copy the entire image to allow users to recognize the image and decide whether to pursue more information about the image or the originating [website]. If Arriba only copied part of the image, it would be more difficult to identify it, thereby reducing the usefulness of the visual search engine.” Id. Accordingly, we concluded that this factor did not weigh in favor of either
- ↑ Google contends that Perfect 10’s photographic images are less creative and less deserving of protection than the images of the American West in Kelly because Perfect 10 boasts of its un-retouched photos showing the natural beauty of its models. Having reviewed the record, we conclude that the district court's finding that Perfect 10’s photographs “consistently reflect professional, skillful, and sometimes tasteful artistry” is not clearly erroneous. Perfect 10, 416 F.Supp.2d at 849 n. 15. We agree with the district court that there is no basis for concluding that photos of the American West are more deserving of protection than photos of nude models. See id.
