Netflix Wins Again as US Court Dismisses ‘Tiger King’ Copyright Challenge, Reinforcing Fair Use in Documentary Footage

US appeals court ruled in favour of Netflix in a cameraman’s copyright infringement case against the streaming video company over footage used in its hit 2020 documentary series Tiger King.

The Denver-based 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals determined that Netflix made fair use of one of Timothy Sepi’s videos and affirmed its earlier finding that the company did not violate Sepi’s rights in seven others.

The 10th Circuit had earlier reversed an Oklahoma district court’s ruling in favour of Netflix on fair use and revived Sepi’s claim in 2024. The appeals court later granted Netflix’s request to hear fresh arguments on fair use, noting it was “particularly interested” in the case’s potential impact on documentary filmmaking.

Lawyers for Sepi did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling, while a Netflix spokesperson declined to comment.

“Tiger King”, a true crime series set in the world of private zoos and their eccentric owners, became a major hit upon its release in March 2020. The show largely centred on Joe Exotic, the owner of an Oklahoma animal park who was later convicted of wildlife crimes and an attempted murder-for-hire plot.

Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, hired Sepi as a cameraman for the park in 2015. Sepi left the role in 2016.

Sepi sued Netflix in 2020 for using eight of his video clips in the series without permission. Chief US District Judge Timothy DeGiusti ruled in 2022 that Netflix had rights to seven clips filmed by Sepi as a park employee and had made fair use of an eighth clip — a eulogy delivered by Exotic at his husband’s funeral, which Sepi had filmed independently.

The 10th Circuit later reversed DeGiusti’s ruling on the eulogy footage, finding that Netflix’s use of the clip might not have been sufficiently “transformative” to qualify as fair use. Netflix argued that such a decision could have a “chilling effect” on documentary makers who rely on short excerpts of existing material to create new works.

However, after reconsidering the case, the appeals court ruled on Thursday that Netflix’s use of the eulogy video did constitute fair use. It held that the use fell “comfortably within the mould of the use of snippets of archival material in documentaries” and was “transformative to a significant degree”.

The case is Whyte Monkee Productions LLC v. Netflix Inc, before the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 22-6086.

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