Motta v. Samuel Weiser, Inc.

FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND OPINION

GENE CARTER, District Judge.

I. Introduction

This is an action for copyright and trademark infringement. The center of this controversy is the literary legacy of Aleister Crowley, an English citizen who died in 1947. Crowley was the dominant figure in the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), a quasi-Masonic secret fraternity that was founded near the beginning of the twentieth century in Germany. Crowley wrote prolifically during his lifetime, and some of these writings have been published by the defendant in this case. Upon his death, Crowley devised his…