Will textualism save our copyright planet? Warhol Fdn v. Lynn Goldsmith headed to SCOTUS
Images of Goldsmith and Warhol at issue.
The U.S. Supreme Court will review a ruling that an Andy Warhol print infringed a copyrighted photograph taken by photographer, Lynn Goldsmith, of the late musician, Prince.
We certainly hope--as much as one can hope for anything these days--that SCOTUS cleans up the wasteland that has become of "fair use" interpretation.
One would think, and hope I suppose, that with many of the sitting justices adhering to textualism, they will fully jettison the nonsensical "transformativeness" test that has plagued us like a really bad case of Covid since the mid-1990s.
Docs here, via ...
Podcast: Stephanie Drawdy and Sergio Munoz Sarmiento on All Things Art and Law
Marcel Duchamp archives now online, free of charge
The Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Centre Pompidou, and the Association Marcel Duchamp have digitized their vast archives of material on the Dadaist and placed it online, where it is free to all. Enjoy!
The Art & Law Coloring Book
If you have kids at home and want them to do something fun and educational, try the Art & Law Coloring Book, an ongoing project by The Art & Law Program. Really a great collection of drawings by great artists, including:
Emma Jane Bloomfield Damien Davis Molly Dilworth João Enxuto Soda Jerk Clare Kambhu Alexandra Lerman Erica Love Douglas Melini Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento Melinda Shades Elisabeth Smolarz Gabriel Sosa Alfred Steiner Valerie Suter
Happy coloring!
What are NFTs and what does it mean to own one?
If you're confused as to what the hell NFTs are, particularly art NFTs, here's a new article by Alfred Steiner that pretty much walks you through and safely out of the NFT hell.
In his article, Steiner explains what NFTs are and what it means to own one. He also discusses why that meaning of ownership—which may appear novel to many—isn’t new at all when considered against the backdrop of the market for conceptual art. Steiner concludes with some observations about how NFTs may be good and bad for the art industry.
The buyer “didn’t send the payment to an escrow account—which was not unusual, given the old-fashioned agreements the art world still relies on.” The buyer explains that this choice was due to “the strong referral from a trusted friend, the need to act quickly…”
The art dealer “lied, fabricated email correspondence, and faked bank transfers, but she also made real payment of deposit and restoration, and shipping costs,” the buyer says.
Finding in favour of Phillips Auctioneers LLC, Hon. Denise Cote of the Southern District of New York dismissed JN Contemporary Art LLC’s complaint against Phillips, holding that (i) “[i]t cannot be seriously disputed that the COVID-19 pandemic is a natural disaster”; and (ii) Phillips, therefore, did not breach its consignment and guarantee agreement with JN Contemporary when it invoked the force majeure provision[1] in the agreement to terminate the parties’ relationship.
Rarely do I agree with pompous and elderly aromatic Rob Storr, but this time I do. “I also distrust academic Marxists because they have never done any real politics at all, so they don’t know that danger.” God bless!
Don’t miss this interesting panel on a new book concerning Seth Siegelaub and his very own “writings—one of the projects for which he never found the time, busy as he was running his global one-man operation. Edited by a group of researchers and curators who each collaborated with Siegelaub, the book brings together his personal notes, public interviews, and precious few published writings into one volume, offering unprecedented insight into the many facets of his inquisitive life.”
Panel includes Lauren van Haaften-Schick, Jo Melvin, and James Hoff. More info on this event here.
Interestingly, in regard to the Copyright (Small) Claims Board, Steiner writes,
Participating in a procedure before the CCB is voluntary—a respondent may opt out of a procedure originally brought before the CCB. In that event, the CCB must dismiss the proceeding without prejudice, which presumably would force the claimant to file a case in district court. Although other consequences of opting out are not yet clear, we would expect that doing so may lead to larger damages awards and increase the probability of an award of attorneys’ fees for a claimant who prevails over a respondent who has opted out.
Clancco, Clancco: The Source for Art & Law, Clancco.com, and Art & Law are trademarks owned by Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento. The views expressed on this site are those of Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento and of the artists and writers who submit to Clancco.com. They are not the views of any other organization, legal or otherwise. All content contained on or made available through Clancco.com is not intended to and does not constitute legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed, nor is anything submitted to Clancco.com treated as confidential.