Objectors' Petition for Rehearing Denied

In a one-sentence order dated March 24 (which has just come to our attention), a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the objectors' petition for reconsideration of its November 29, 2007, ruling in the copyright class-action settlement.

The judges held that the settlement must be remanded to the district court because it includes holders of unregistered copyrights.

Separately, the plaintiffs and the defendants also petitioned for reconsideration by the three-judge panel or, in addition, rehearing "en banc" by the full Circuit Court. There has been no ruling yet on that.

I'm just guessing, but I don't think the denial of our petition signals how the court will rule on the parties' petitions. Ours could be said to have been more procedurally ambitious in that we argued that the judges should have considered the "merits" of our objections dispositive and ruled on them before getting to the question of jurisdiction.