Progressive Lighting, Inc. v. Lowe's Home Centers, Inc. ( 2013 )


Menu:
  •           Case: 12-14958   Date Filed: 12/16/2013   Page: 1 of 19
    [DO NOT PUBLISH]
    IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
    ________________________
    No. 12-14958
    ________________________
    D.C. Docket No. 1:07-cv-02822-TWT
    PROGRESSIVE LIGHTING, INC.,
    Plaintiff-Appellant,
    versus
    LOWE’S HOME CENTERS, INC. and BEL AIR LIGHTING, INC.,
    Defendants-Appellees.
    ________________________
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Northern District of Georgia
    ________________________
    (December 16, 2013)
    Case: 12-14958       Date Filed: 12/16/2013       Page: 2 of 19
    Before HULL and HILL, Circuit Judges, and MOTZ, ∗ District Judge.
    PER CURIAM:
    Plaintiff-appellee Progressive Lighting, Inc. appeals the district court’s grant
    of summary judgment to defendants-appellants Lowe’s Home Centers, Inc. and
    Bel Air Lighting, Inc. on its copyright infringement claims. After careful review
    of the record and the parties’ briefs, and with the benefit of oral argument, we
    affirm. 1
    I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND
    A.     The Parties
    Plaintiff-appellant Progressive Lighting, Inc. (“Progressive”) is a Georgia
    corporation engaged in the design, creation, and distribution of light fixtures
    (chandeliers, fans, and lamps). Progressive sells its light fixtures through its own
    retail outlets (operating under the brand name “Savoy House”) and by selling to
    other retailers.
    Defendant-appellee Bel Air Lighting, Inc. (“Bel Air”) is a California
    corporation which manufactures light fixtures and sells its products to retailers.
    Defendant-appellee Lowe’s Home Centers, Inc. (“Lowe’s”) is a retailer which sells
    ∗
    Honorable J. Frederick Motz, United States District Judge for the District of Maryland,
    sitting by designation.
    1
    Another panel of the court previously denied a motion to dismiss the appeal. We see no
    reason to disturb the panel’s ruling.
    2
    Case: 12-14958       Date Filed: 12/16/2013      Page: 3 of 19
    light fixtures. Lowe’s is one of Bel-Air’s customers and sells Bel-Air’s light
    fixtures in its stores.
    B.     Plaintiff Progressive’s Contract with Designer Karyl Pierce Paxton
    Karyl Pierce Paxton is a nationally-acclaimed designer of home products,
    including light fixtures. Paxton is from New Orleans and her hometown “plays a
    large role in her creative inspiration.” Around 2000, Paxton signed a contract with
    Progressive. That contract gave Progressive exclusive rights to manufacture and
    market Paxton’s interior fixture designs. Paxton received a five percent
    commission from the sales of light fixtures she designed for Progressive. The
    contract was effective at all times between 2000 and 2008.
    C.     Design of the Cumberland Collection Light Fixtures
    According to Paxton, in 2004, she completed hand-drawn designs for a
    series of light fixtures that would become Progressive’s “Cumberland Collection.” 2
    Paxton intended for the light fixtures in the Cumberland Collection to incorporate
    the fleur-de-lis, a symbol long-associated with her native New Orleans. Paxton
    designed these light fixtures specifically for Progressive. 3
    2
    Around the same time, Paxton also created another set of drawings that would become
    Progressive’s “Sonoma Collection.” The Sonoma Collection is not at issue in this case.
    3
    The record contains conflicting evidence about who is the original creator of these
    designs: (1) Paxton; (2) a former employee/part-owner of her design studio, Christopher Sacco;
    or (3) a Chinese artist working independently of Paxton, Da Young Wang. Because we
    determine that Progressive cannot sustain a copyright infringement claim against Bel Air or
    Lowe’s, regardless of who designed the various light fixtures, we do not recount the evidence
    pertinent to this authorship issue.
    3
    Case: 12-14958     Date Filed: 12/16/2013   Page: 4 of 19
    In June 2004, Paxton sent the computer-aided version of the fleur-de-lis-
    inspired light fixture designs to Progressive. She did not send her hand sketches at
    that time. After Progressive approved the designs, it sent them on to its
    manufacturer, Light Star. Progressive made no changes to the designs before
    sending them to Light Star.
    D.    Progressive’s Discovery of Similar Light Fixtures at Lowe’s
    Sometime before early 2006, Progressive learned from its customers that
    Lowe’s was selling light fixtures strongly resembling those in Progressive’s
    Cumberland Collection. A Progressive executive investigated and determined that
    the customer complaints were accurate.
    E.    Paxton’s First Copyright Application
    Several months later, on December 13, 2006, Paxton applied for a copyright
    on all fixture designs in the Cumberland Collection. On her application, Paxton
    referred to the collective body of work for which she sought copyright protection
    as “Cumberland/Fleur de Lis Interior & Sonoma Interior.” She stated that these
    collections included “3-Dimensional sculpture” and “2-Dimensional artwork,” and
    she attached design drawings of thirteen different light fixtures.
    In the cover letter attached to her application, Paxton’s attorney wrote, “[t]he
    Author has become aware of the unauthorized copying of Author’s sculptural
    4
    Case: 12-14958     Date Filed: 12/16/2013   Page: 5 of 19
    works.” Paxton also attached images which she purported were “unauthorized
    copies” of the works in the Cumberland Collection.
    Paxton’s attorney also anticipated and addressed potential hurdles to
    obtaining copyrights. The attorney wrote, “[t]he Author acknowledges that the
    underlying works in the January 2005 Collection are useful articles. However, the
    January 2005 Collection incorporates pictorial, graphic, or sculptural features that
    can be identified separately from, and are capable of existing independently of, the
    utilitarian aspects of the articles.” The attorney went on to assert that the works
    were “entitled to copyright registration because [they] contain[] a sufficient
    amount of separable and creative authorship to support copyright registration.”
    F.    The Copyright Office’s December 2006 Refusal to Register Letter
    A few weeks later, the United States Copyright Office (“Copyright Office”)
    sent a letter to Paxton’s attorney in response to Paxton’s application. The
    Copyright Office wrote, “[w]hile some of the works [in the application] do not
    appear to contain any separable authorship, we do agree that some works contain
    ornamentation that may be considered to be separable. However, after careful
    consideration, we have determined that the separable ornamentation . . . is not
    copyrightable.”
    The Copyright Office explained that it reached this conclusion because
    “[w]e believe that the placement of preexisting elements around a fixture, in the
    5
    Case: 12-14958     Date Filed: 12/16/2013    Page: 6 of 19
    manner we see here, lacks the authorship necessary to support a claim to
    copyright.” While the Copyright Office was able to register Paxton’s two-
    dimensional drawings of the fixtures, it was not able to register the three-
    dimensional sculptures created based on those drawings.
    G.    Paxton’s Second Copyright Application
    Paxton (through counsel) subsequently submitted a second application based
    on these works. In the cover letter, Paxton’s attorney wrote that Paxton “disagrees
    that the placement of preexisting elements around a fixture, as seen in the January
    2005 Collection, lacks the authorship necessary to support a claim to copyright.
    The Author did not merely place preexisting elements around a lighting fixture.”
    Paxton’s attorney also wrote that Paxton “disagrees that the separable
    ornamentation is not copyrightable.”
    H.    The Copyright Office’s April 2007 Registration of Paxton’s Sculpture
    Copyrights
    On April 9, 2007, the Copyright Office responded to Paxton’s second
    copyright application stating: “[i]t appears we were mistaken in our assumption
    that the decorative ornamentation on some of these works was preexisting . . . .
    Based on the fact the ornamentation is original with the author, we can make a
    registration for the collection as a whole.” In its letter, the Copyright Office noted
    that “[t]his is a collection of individual works which were apparently published as
    a single unit. Registration has been made because some of the works in the
    6
    Case: 12-14958     Date Filed: 12/16/2013   Page: 7 of 19
    collection would support an independent claim to copyright.” However, the
    Copyright Office also cautioned that, “[b]ased on the reasons mentioned in our
    letter of December 26, 2006, we believe that some of the works, if considered
    separately, would not support an independent claim and would not be protected by
    copyright.” The Copyright Office did not state which works were and were not
    eligible for independent copyright registration. Moreover, Paxton later testified
    that she did not “have any idea or information” as to which works were and were
    not eligible for such independent registration. Accordingly, the Copyright Office
    registered a copyright to Paxton for the “Cumberland/Fleur de Lis Interior and
    Sonoma Interior” works. The effective date of the copyright was December 18,
    2006—the date on which the Copyright Office received Paxton’s first application.
    Thereafter, on May 18, 2007, Paxton assigned to her studio her copyright. That
    same day, Paxton’s studio assigned the copyright to Progressive.
    I.    Progressive’s May 29, 2007 Letter to Lowe’s
    After Progressive acquired Paxton’s copyright, Progressive’s attorney sent a
    cease and desist letter to Lowe’s. In that letter, Progressive’s attorney informed
    Lowe’s that “[y]our company’s ‘6-Light’, ‘3-Light Down’ and ‘6-Light Pot Rack’
    chandeliers sold under the ‘Portfolio’ brand are substantially similar (if not
    identical) in appearance to our client’s ‘6-Light’, ‘3-Light’ and ‘8 Light Pot Rack’
    chandeliers sold under the ‘Cumberland’ mark. Thus, Lowe’s is infringing on our
    7
    Case: 12-14958      Date Filed: 12/16/2013    Page: 8 of 19
    client’s copyright in its chandelier products.” Paxton’s attorney informed Lowe’s
    general counsel that “Lowe’s is required to cease and desist immediately from any
    further sale, offer for sale, or display of the infringing products, to account for the
    number of the accused products sold, to account for the gross revenues it has
    received to date . . . [,] and to identify the source(s) of those products.”
    Lowe’s forwarded this letter to Bel Air, the manufacturer of the alleged
    infringing light fixtures. Lowe’s did so pursuant to an indemnity provision in the
    agreement between Lowe’s and Bel Air.
    II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY
    A. Bel Air’s Complaint for a Declaratory Judgment Against Progressive
    After receiving Progressive’s letter, on August 28, 2007, Bel Air filed a
    complaint in the Central District of California against Progressive seeking a
    declaratory judgment that: (1) Paxton’s copyright (since transferred to Progressive)
    was invalid; (2) Progressive (through Paxton) had committed fraud on the
    Copyright Office by seeking to and successfully registering a design that she knew
    was not her own; and (3) Bel Air had not infringed on any copyright of
    Progressive’s. Progressive also brought an affirmative copyright infringement
    claim and a California state law claim.
    B.     Progressive’s Complaint Against Lowe’s
    8
    Case: 12-14958    Date Filed: 12/16/2013   Page: 9 of 19
    A few weeks later, on September 10, 2007, Progressive filed its own
    complaint against Lowe’s in the Northern District of Georgia. Progressive alleged
    that: (1) Paxton was the author of the light fixture designs comprising the
    Cumberland Collection; (2) Paxton had obtained a valid copyright for these
    designs, which she had assigned to Progressive; (3) Lowe’s had access to Paxton’s
    designs; and (4) “Lowe’s has sold and offered for sale, publically displayed and/or
    distributed unauthorized, infringing lighting fixtures embodying Progressive
    Lighting’s copyrighted designs.” Based on these allegations, Progressive brought
    a claim for copyright infringement. Unlike its earlier letter to Lowe’s, where
    Progressive identified three specific designs from its Cumberland Collection that
    Lowe’s was allegedly infringing, the complaint did not identify any specific light
    fixture designs from the Cumberland Collection as the bases for the copyright
    infringement claim.
    C.    Transfer of Bel Air’s Complaint to the Northern District of Georgia and
    Consolidation
    Thereafter, the California district court transferred the case commenced by
    Bel Air to the Northern District of Georgia. After the transfer, Bel Air answered
    Progressive’s complaint and brought a counterclaim for copyright infringement
    against Progressive. Subsequently, the district court consolidated the California
    action with the one commenced in Georgia. The case thus proceeded with
    9
    Case: 12-14958    Date Filed: 12/16/2013   Page: 10 of 19
    Progressive and Bel Air both asserting copyright infringement claims against the
    other.
    D.       Summary Judgment Motions
    After discovery, Bel Air filed a motion for summary judgment. Bel Air did
    not state whether it was seeking summary judgment only as to Progressive’s claim
    against it, or also as to its own claims against Progressive. Lowe’s also filed a
    motion for summary judgment on Progressive’s copyright infringement claim.
    E.       District Court’s Summary Judgment Order
    The district court granted Bel Air’s and Lowe’s motions for summary
    judgment. The district court began with Progressive’s concession that the light
    fixtures in the Cumberland Collection were useful articles. Although useful
    articles are generally not subject to copyright protection, Progressive argued that
    its light fixture designs “incorporate sculptural features that are separable from the
    utilitarian aspects of the fixture” and therefore were copyrightable. The district
    court rejected this argument. Acknowledging that a useful article is copyrightable
    when its creative elements are separable from its utilitarian aspects, the district
    court determined that separability did not exist in this case. Without separability,
    Progressive could not obtain copyright protection, and Lowe’s and Bel Air were
    entitled to summary judgment on Progressive’s copyright infringement claims.
    F.       Dismissal of Bel Air’s Claims Against Progressive
    10
    Case: 12-14958    Date Filed: 12/16/2013   Page: 11 of 19
    Notably, the district court did not rule on Bel Air’s remaining claims against
    Progressive. Thereafter, on May 13, 2010, the district court entered an order and
    stipulation of dismissal stating that Bel Air and Progressive had “reached an
    agreement on resolution of the remaining claims made in this action, and hereby
    stipulate to the dismissal of this action.” The dismissal was without prejudice,
    pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41.
    III. STANDARD OF REVIEW
    We review de novo a district court’s grant of summary judgment and draw
    “all inferences and review all evidence in the light most favorable to the non-
    moving party.” Hamilton v. Southland Christian Sch., Inc., 
    680 F.3d 1316
    , 1318
    (11th Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks omitted). “Summary judgment is
    appropriate only if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any
    material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” 
    Id. (internal quotation
    marks omitted).
    IV. COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT ANALYSIS
    To prevail on its copyright infringement claims, Progressive must show: (1)
    that it “owns a valid copyright in the work”; and (2) “copying by the defendant.”
    Original Appalachian Artworks, Inc. v. Toy Loft, Inc., 
    684 F.2d 821
    , 824 (11th
    Cir. 1982).
    A.    The Effect of Progressive’s Certificate of Registration
    11
    Case: 12-14958      Date Filed: 12/16/2013    Page: 12 of 19
    As a threshold matter, we note that Progressive owns a valid certificate of
    copyright registration in the works of the Cumberland Collection. A certificate of
    registration, however, is not conclusive on the copyright ownership issue. Rather,
    the Copyright Act provides that such a certificate “shall constitute prima facie
    evidence of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate.”
    17 U.S.C. § 410(c). “Once a plaintiff produces a certificate of registration, the
    burden shifts to the defendant to establish that the work in which the copyright is
    claimed is unprotectable . . . .” Latimer v. Roaring Toyz, Inc., 
    601 F.3d 1224
    ,
    1233 (11th Cir. 2010) (internal quotation marks omitted).
    Here, Lowe’s and Bel Air ask this Court to conclude that Progressive’s
    certificate of copyright registration does not constitute prima facie evidence of a
    valid copyright, because the Copyright Office registered the Cumberland
    Collection with the express caveat that “some individual fixtures in the collection
    were not protected because they lacked separability and/or originality.” The
    defendants argue that, in light of this caveat and Progressive’s lack of information
    about which works the Copyright Office intended to protect, the certificate does
    not establish a presumption of validity as to any individual work in the collection.
    We need not decide the effect of Progressive’s certificate of copyright
    registration in this case. Even assuming that Progressive’s certificate did give rise
    to a presumption of a valid copyright, “this presumption is rebuttable.” Bateman v.
    12
    Case: 12-14958     Date Filed: 12/16/2013   Page: 13 of 19
    Mnemonics, Inc., 
    79 F.3d 1532
    , 1541 n.20 (11th Cir. 1996). As our sister circuits
    have held, “[t]o rebut the presumption of validity, an infringement defendant must
    simply offer some evidence or proof to dispute or deny the plaintiff’s prima facie
    case of infringement.” United Fabrics Int’l, Inc. v. C&J Wear, Inc., 
    630 F.3d 1255
    ,
    1257 (9th Cir. 2011) (internal quotation marks and alterations omitted); see also
    Palladium Music, Inc. v. EatSleepMusic, Inc., 
    398 F.3d 1193
    , 1196 (10th Cir.
    2005). Here, Bel Air and Lowe’s rebutted the presumption of validity by offering
    evidence showing, inter alia, that the works whose copyrightability is at issue were
    useful articles that did not contain separable copyrightable elements. We thus turn
    to whether, absent a presumption of validity, Progressive’s light fixtures were
    entitled to copyright protection.
    B.    Copyrightability of Useful Articles
    Under the Copyright Act, “[c]opyright protection subsists . . . in original
    works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or
    later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise
    communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.” 17 U.S.C.
    § 102(a). “Works of authorship include,” inter alia, “pictorial, graphic, and
    sculptural works.” 17 U.S.C. § 102(a)(5).
    The statute defines “pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works” as “two-
    dimensional and three-dimensional works of fine, graphic, and applied art,
    13
    Case: 12-14958     Date Filed: 12/16/2013     Page: 14 of 19
    photographs, prints and art reproductions, maps, globes, charts, diagrams, models,
    and technical drawings, including architectural plans.” 17 U.S.C. § 101. It further
    provides that “the design of a useful article . . . shall be considered a pictorial,
    graphic, or sculptural work only if, and only to the extent that, such design
    incorporates pictorial, graphic, or sculptural features that can be identified
    separately from, and are capable of existing independently of, the utilitarian
    aspects of the article.” 
    Id. Other useful
    articles—defined as articles “having an
    intrinsic utilitarian function that is not merely to portray the appearance of the
    article or to convey information,” id.—are not entitled to copyright protection. See
    Norris Indus., Inc. v. Int’l Tel. & Tel. Corp., 
    696 F.2d 918
    , 923 (11th Cir. 1983).
    Here, there is no dispute that the Cumberland Collection light fixtures are
    useful articles. Paxton, through counsel, conceded this point when she first applied
    for copyright registration, and Progressive has not challenged this concession. The
    copyrightability of Progressive’s light fixtures, therefore, depends primarily on
    whether the fixtures contain copyrightable components that are separable from
    their utilitarian aspects. There are two types of separability: physical and
    conceptual. 
    Id. We consider
    the potential applicability of each type of separability
    in turn.
    C.     Physical Separability
    14
    Case: 12-14958       Date Filed: 12/16/2013       Page: 15 of 19
    Physical separability exists when, “after removal of those features which are
    necessary for the utilitarian function of the article, the artistic features . . .
    nevertheless remain intact.” 
    Id. (internal quotation
    marks omitted); see Mazer v.
    Stein, 
    347 U.S. 201
    , 218, 
    74 S. Ct. 460
    , 471 (1954) (“We find nothing in the
    copyright statute to support the argument that the intended use or use in industry of
    an article eligible for copyright bars or invalidates its registration.”). A physically
    separable element of a useful article, however, is only entitled to copyright
    protection where that element otherwise satisfies the statutory requirements for
    copyrightability, such as originality. See 17 U.S.C. § 102(a).
    Before the district court, Progressive limited its physical separability
    argument to its “bath bar” light fixtures. 4 Specifically, Progressive argued the
    fleur-de-lis “scroll work” at the bases of these light fixtures “serves no utilitarian
    feature . . . [,] is merely serving an aesthetic, artistic function [and] . . . . could
    easily be displayed on a wall or other surface independently of the lighting
    fixture.” As noted by the district court, however, because Progressive did not
    adequately allege that Bel Air or Lowe’s infringed Progressive’s bath bar light
    fixtures, it is not necessary to determine whether the fleur-de-lis scroll designs
    4
    Intended for use in the bathroom, the Cumberland Collection “bath bar” light fixtures consist of
    a base with arms extending outward, each arm supporting a light bulb at its end. Decorative
    scroll work, intended to evoke the fleur-de-lis, adorns each base.
    15
    Case: 12-14958        Date Filed: 12/16/2013       Page: 16 of 19
    were physically separable or sufficiently original to obtain copyrightability. 5 For
    this reason, the district court appropriately granted defendants’ motion for
    summary judgment with respect to the bath bar fixtures.
    D.     Conceptual Separability
    As for conceptual separability, this doctrine refers to “ornamental,
    superfluous designs contained within useful objects.” 
    Norris, 696 F.3d at 924
    . We
    previously noted that examples of conceptually separable works within a useful
    article include “a carving on the back of a chair and a floral relief design on silver
    flatware.” 
    Id. at 923.
    Conceptual separability does not apply to “functional
    components of useful articles, no matter how artistically designed . . . unless they
    5
    Assuming (contrary to a finding made by the district court) that the fleur-de-lis scroll work was
    sufficiently original so as to be copyrightable, there was no proof of any infringement. Although
    a conventional fleur-de-lis is certainly not eligible for copyright protection, a design is not
    automatically deprived of copyright protection because it derives from a design in the public
    domain. See Bucklew v. Hawkins, Ash, Baptie & Co., LLP, 
    329 F.3d 923
    , 929 (7th Cir. 2003).
    Indeed, courts have generally been generous in finding originality where authors contribute some
    minimal creative touches to conventional designs. See Baby Buddies, Inc. v. Toys R Us,
    Inc.,611 F.3d 1308, 1316–18 (11th Cir. 2010) (concluding that although the plaintiff could not
    obtain copyright protection for the idea of a teddy bear on a pacifier holder, the specific
    expressive design of that particular teddy bear—the shape of its paws, its nose, the proportion of
    its ears—was original and entitled to copyright protection); see also Satava v. Lowry, 
    323 F.3d 805
    (9th Cir. 2003) (refusing to afford copyright protection to the concept of a glass-in-glass
    jellyfish sculpture but observing that the designer’s original expressive contributions—the
    distinctive curls of the jellyfish tendrils, the specific hues used in the arrangement—were
    copyrightable).
    That said, assuming that Progressive’s designs are entitled to copyright protection at all,
    they only deserve “thin” protection—they are copyrightable only for their specific stylized
    rendering of a conventional fleur-de-lis. In other words, Progressive’s copyrights only protect
    against virtually identical copying. See Ets-Hokin v. Skyy Spirits, 
    323 F.3d 763
    , 766 (9th Cir.
    2003). Progressive did not present evidence of the fleur-de-lis scroll design used by Bel Air, and
    therefore did not sustain its burden of proving identical copying.
    16
    Case: 12-14958         Date Filed: 12/16/2013   Page: 17 of 19
    are physically separable from the useful article.” 
    Id. at 923.
    In Norris, we held
    that a wheel cover design that “simulate[d] a wire wheel,” 
    id. at 919,
    did not
    contain conceptually separable elements because “[t]he wire wheel covers . . .
    [were] not superfluous ornamental designs, but functional components of
    utilitarian articles,” 
    id. at 924.
    Here, Progressive does not point to any individual nonfunctional aspect of a
    Cumberland Collection light fixture which itself contains copyrightable material.
    Rather, like in Norris, the expressive aspects of the light fixtures are also functional
    components of the utilitarian articles. See 
    id. The light
    fixtures “do not contain a
    superfluous sculptured design, serving no function, that can be identified apart
    from the [light fixtures] themselves.” See 
    id. Therefore, conceptual
    separability
    does not apply.
    Progressive’s main argument to the contrary is that the overall shapes and
    appearances of the light fixtures reflect artistic, nonfunctional considerations.
    However, in Norris, we noted that, under the Copyright Act, “although the shape of
    an industrial product may be aesthetically satisfying and valuable,” this fact alone
    does not make the entire useful article copyrightable. 
    Id. at 923
    n.9 (internal
    quotation marks omitted). Furthermore, “even if the appearance of an article is
    determined by aesthetic (as opposed to functional) considerations, only elements, if
    any, which can be identified separately from the useful article are copyrightable.”
    17
    Case: 12-14958     Date Filed: 12/16/2013    Page: 18 of 19
    
    Id. at 924
    n.9 (internal quotation marks omitted). As we later explained, “a useful
    article, as a whole, does not receive copyright protection, but any constituent
    design elements that can be physically or conceptually separated from the
    underlying article can receive copyright protection.” Baby 
    Buddies., 611 F.3d at 1316
    .
    Progressive’s argument fails because it asks us to confer copyright
    protection on a light fixture “as a whole.” For example, Progressive contends that
    “[a] utilitarian 5-light chandelier needs only one rod running from the ceiling to the
    base and then five arms extending from the base to the light . . . . Although
    absolutely unnecessary to the function of a lighting fixture, [Paxton] added two
    curving bars to surround and embrace the rod extending from the ceiling to the
    base.” Progressive does not, however, argue that the extra arms, individually,
    contain expressive material such that they are copyrightable. Rather, Progressive
    contends that the existence of the extra arms makes the entire light fixture
    copyrightable. Our precedent makes clear that an entire useful article cannot
    receive copyright protection, no matter how many superfluous, aesthetic individual
    components it has.
    Progressive also argues that the district court erroneously failed to consider
    certain facts during its conceptual separability analysis, specifically: (1) that the
    Cumberland Collection light fixtures “could work as just a sculptural element in a
    18
    Case: 12-14958     Date Filed: 12/16/2013    Page: 19 of 19
    room”; (2) “Paxton’s reputation in the industry”; and (3) “that creative chandelier
    designs have traditionally been afforded copyright protection.” None of these
    considerations are relevant in our analysis or change the fact that the light fixtures
    do not contain separable elements entitled to copyright protection.
    V. CONCLUSION
    For the reasons explained, we affirm the district court’s grant of summary
    judgment to defendants Lowe’s and Bel Air on plaintiff Progressive’s copyright
    infringement claims.
    AFFIRMED.
    19