Case: 12-57302, 05/18/2015, ID: 9540348, DktEntry: 197-1, Page 3 of 42
GARCIA V. GOOGLE
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of violence in the Middle East, and Garcia received death
threats.
The en banc court held that the district court did not abuse
its discretion in denying Garcia’s motion for a mandatory
preliminary injunction because the law and facts did not
clearly favor her claim to a copyright in her acting
performance as it appeared in Innocence of Muslims. The en
banc court credited the expert opinion of the Copyright
Office, which had refused to register Garcia’s performance
apart from the film. The en banc court also held that in the
context of copyright infringement, the only basis upon which
the preliminary injunction was sought, Garcia failed to make
a clear showing of irreparable harm to her interests as an
author.
The en banc court dissolved the three-judge panel’s
amended takedown injunction against the posting or display
of any version of Innocence of Muslims that included
Garcia’s performance. The en banc court held that the
injunction was unwarranted and incorrect as a matter of law
and was a prior restraint that infringed the First Amendment
values at stake.
Concurring in the judgment, Judge Watford wrote that the
majority should not have reached the issue of copyright law,
but rather should have affirmed, without controversy, on the
basis of Garcia’s failure to establish a likelihood of
irreparable harm.
Dissenting, Judge Kozinski wrote that Garcia’s dramatic
performance met all of the requirements for copyright
protection. He wrote that her copyright claim was likely to