No. 19-1247October Term 2019Decided May 26, 2020
Lovingood v. Discovery Commc'ns, Inc.
This case involves a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court regarding a dispute between Lovingood and Discovery Communications, Inc., likely arising from a decision by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Case status
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released May 26, 2020
- What it's about
This case involves a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court regarding a dispute between Lovingood and Discovery Communications, Inc., likely arising from a decision by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Question presented
1. Whether the Ninth Circuit’s "extrinsic test" for copyright infringement—which requires a court to filter out unprotectable elements before comparing the works—is consistent with the "total concept and feel" test used by other circuits. 2. Whether the Ninth Circuit’s rule that a plaintiff must prove "substantial similarity" of "protectable elements" to survive a motion to dismiss in a copyright infringement case conflicts with this Court’s decisions in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007), and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009).
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit / Decision released May 26, 2020
- Area
Decided Supreme Court case
Documents
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Mar 31, 2026
- Method
- Methodology