William J. Lathan v. the City of Whittier, Alaska;

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
WILLIAM J. LATHAN,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
THE CITY OF WHITTIER, ALASKA; et
al.,
Defendants - Appellees.
No. 11-35684
D.C. No. 3:10-cv-00070-TMB
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Alaska
Timothy M. Burgess, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted March 12, 2013**
Before: PREGERSON, REINHARDT, and W. FLETCHER, Circuit Judges.
William J. Lathan appeals pro se from the district court’s summary judgment
in his copyright infringement action. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.
§ 1291. We review de novo. Worth v. Selchow & Righter Co., 827 F.2d 569, 571
FILED
MAR 21 2013
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).

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(9th Cir. 1987). We affirm.
The district court properly granted summary judgment because the
Copyright Act’s fair use defense bars Lathan’s action. 17 U.S.C. § 107 (2006); see
also Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 508 F.3d 1146, 1163 (9th Cir. 2007)
(“The [fair use] defense encourages and allows the development of new ideas that
build on earlier ones, thus providing a necessary counterbalance to the copyright
law’s goal of protecting creators’ work product.”); id. at 1163-68 (explaining four-
factor test for fair use analysis).
Because the district court properly made a finding of fair use, we need not
review the district court’s finding that the merger doctrine also bars Lathan’s
action.
AFFIRMED.
11-35684 2

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