No. 22-3623 ___________________________

Laney Marie Griner

Plaintiff - Appellee

Sam Griner

Plaintiff

v.

Steven Arnold King

Defendant

King for Congress

Defendant - Appellant ___________________________

No. 23-2117 ___________________________

Laney Marie Griner; Sam Griner

Plaintiffs - Appellees

v.

Steven Arnold King; King for Congress

Defendants - Appellants ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Western ____________

Submitted: March 12, 2024 Filed: June 7, 2024 ____________ Before BENTON, ERICKSON, and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________ BENTON, Circuit Judge.

The King for Congress Committee posted a meme—a humorous online image—asking supporters of the Congressman to “FUND OUR MEMES!!!” Laney M. Griner, the owner of the copyright to the meme’s template photo, sued the Congressman and the Committee for copyright infringement. A jury found the Committee, but not the Congressman, liable for copyright infringement, awarding Griner $750, the statutory minimum. Both parties moved for costs and attorney’s fees. The district court 1 granted-in-part and denied-in-part costs to both parties, but denied all attorney’s fees. The Congressman and the Committee (collectively, the Defendants) appeal. Having jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, this court affirms.

I.

In 2007, Laney Griner took a photo of her then 11-month-old son (Sam) on the beach. That photo went viral, becoming one of the first (and most popular) internet memes, known as “Success Kid,” with billions of uses. A meme is “an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) or genre of items that is spread widely online especially through social media.” Meme, Merriam–

1 The Honorable C.J. Williams, Chief United States District Judge for the Northern District of Iowa. -2- Webster Online Dictionary, available at http://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/meme (last accessed May 19, 2024).

2

In 2012, Griner registered the copyright in the Success Kid template with the United States Copyright Office. Using this copyright, she licensed the template to many companies—including Virgin Mobile, Vitamin Water, Microsoft, and Coca- Cola—that used versions of it in advertisements.

In 2020, the Committee posted a version of the meme on its website, Facebook page, and Twitter account (among other places). This version of the meme placed the Success Kid in front of the United States Capitol, declaring “FUND OUR MEMES!!!” The post asked viewers to “please click the link below and throw us a few dollars to make sure the memes keep flowing and the Lefties stay triggered.”

2 The original photo by Laney Griner of her son, commonly known as “Success Kid.” See Rebecca Macatee, Boy From "Success Kid" Meme Is Now 8, Fundraising for His Dad's Kidney Transplant, E! News (Apr. 15, 2015) https://www.eonline.com/news/646577/boy-from-success-kid-meme-is-now-8- fundraising-for-his-dad-s-kidney-transplant (last accessed May 31, 2024) (containing this image).

-3- The link connected users to a donation page. The Defendants never sought or received permission to use the Success Kid template.

3

Griner, through her attorney, notified the Defendants that they infringed her