F. W. Woolworth Company Co. had the first five-and-dime stores, which sold discounted general merchandise at fixed prices, usually five or ten cents, undercutting the prices of other local merchants. Woolworth, as the stores popularly became known, was one of the first American retailers to put merchandise out for the shopping public to handle and select without the assistance of a sales clerk. Earlier retailers had kept all merchandise behind a counter and customers presented the clerk with a list of items they wished to buy. After working in Augsbury and Moore dry goods store in Watertown, New York, Frank Winfield Woolworth obtained credit
F. W. Woolworth Co. v. Contemporary Arts, Inc. artist Elizabeth Philbrik received a copyright for a statuette of a “Cocker-Spaniel in Sitting Position.” In 1943, Contemporary Arts bought all rights to the artwork. Contemporary Arts sold the cocker spaniel statuettes in gift shops and art stores in three different grades: In 1949, Woolworth bought nearly identically-designed statuettes from the Sabin Manufacturing company of McKeesport, Pennsylvania through the Lepere Pottery Company of Zanesville, Ohio. No evidence was provided that Woolworth’s knowingly participated in the copyright infringement. Woolworth sold the items for only $1.19. Contemporary Arts provided evidence that the version sold at Woolworth were inferior in quality. Although Woolworth’s