The Art Law Report logo
The Art Law Report Providing timely updates and commentary on legal issues in the museum and visual arts communities

Monthly Archives: September 2013

Fair Use and Social Utility: Google Books Case Could Drive Copying of Visual Arts in the Name of Access

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Copyright, Intellectual Property

Comments by the federal judge overseeing the copyright dispute arising out of the Google Books project could portend a lasting effect on reproductions of visual arts.  Elevating the question of social benefit in a fair use analysis, Judge Denny Chin of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York posed a question… Continue Reading

Coverage of Lessig “Lisztomania” DCMA Takedown Lawsuit Continues

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Copyright, Intellectual Property

News media have started to pick up on the lawsuit filed in August by Lawrence Lessig, which challenges takedown notice practices by Liberation Music under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the “DMCA”) in relation to Lessig’s lecture series later posted on YouTube, which featured third party content creators and the song “Lisztomania” by the… Continue Reading

Knoedler Forgery Cases Foretell New Battleground Over Art Dealer Diligence

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Connoisseurship, Forgery, Knoedler, Litigation

For more than two years now, the collapse of the M. Knoedler & Co. Gallery in New York amidst allegations of forged paintings by well-known 20th Century artists has sent ripples in all directions: legal, art historical, legislative, and connoisseurship.  Several recent developments have drawn focus to the likely litigation fallout among those affected by… Continue Reading

Cariou Petitions Supreme Court to Review Richard Prince Fair Use Decision

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Intellectual Property, Uncategorized

  Patrick Cariou, after winning his copyright claim against Richard Prince in the District Court in 2011, suffered a stinging reversal earlier this year when the Second Circuit found in Prince’s favor as to his use of Cariou’s Yes, Rasta series in the Prince Canal Zone collages.  The Second Circuit decision has been widely derided… Continue Reading