Dinaco, Inc. v. Time Warner

Argued: August 28, 2003 Plaintiff-Appellant Dinaco Inc. (""Dinaco"") appeals from the October 28, 2002 judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (John S. Martin, Jr., Judge) granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants-Appellees Time Warner Inc. and Time Inc. (collectively, ""Time""). 1 Dinaco seeks to hold Time liable for debts incurred by Patient Education Media, Inc. (""PEMI"") on several theories: that Time and PEMI were joint venturers; or that PEMI had actual or apparent authority to enter into contracts with Dinaco on behalf of Time. In November 1994, Paul Dinan, an employee of Dinaco and the brother of Dinaco's CEO, Jim Dinan, read an article in Advertising Age that indicated Time was ""announcing plans for a new joint venture"" called ""Patient Education Media"" that would market and promote a line of educational medical videos. In early 1995, Time and PEMI entered into a ""Product Development and Trademark Agreement,"" in which Time licensed the TIME LIFE MEDICAL® trademark to PEMI for use on its products and in its advertising in exchange for royalties based on a percentage of PEMI's net revenues.