Trial News

DynaStudy, Inc., is an educational publishing company that creates student course notes and activity books for various subjects and grade levels. When disseminating its work, the company provides its name, a copyright notice, and one or more warnings prohibiting the copying or reproduction of its products. In 2012, DynaStudy sent the first of five notices to its largest customer, the Houston Independent School District (HISD), requesting that the district remove online postings of scanned DynaStudy products. Nevertheless, district employees, including teachers, continued to post DynaStudy materials.

DynaStudy sued the HISD, alleging copyright infringement and violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The plaintiff contended that the defendant’s violations began during the 2006 school year and continued through at least 2017, involving over 150 files containing scans of copyrighted works, which were used in more than 100 schools. The plaintiff also asserted that its copyright information was typically covered during the scanning process, which facilitated additional infringement by HISD employees.

The jury awarded approximately $9.2 million.

Citation: DynaStudy, Inc. v. Houston Indep. Sch. Dist., No. 4:16-cv-01442 (S.D. Tex. May 24, 2019).

Plaintiff counsel: Gary Sorden, Timothy Craddock, Mandi Phillips, and Darin Klemchuk, all of Dallas.