Mio and konektra: originality and copying in furniture design
Two references concerned copyright claims involving furniture and the test for infringement of applied art.
Art Copyright & Reproduction
Court cases about copying, photographing, adapting and licensing works of visual art, with links to the decisions.
65 cases
WaterRower: can a rowing machine be artistic craftsmanship?
WaterRower asserted copyright in the design of a wooden rowing machine.
Philpot: a Creative Commons photograph and missing credit
A website used Larry Philpot’s photograph of Ted Nugent without the credit required by the license.
McNatt v. Prince: final judgment over a New Portraits image
Eric McNatt challenged the reuse of his portrait of Kim Gordon in Richard Prince’s New Portraits series.
THJ Systems: originality in visual risk charts
The dispute concerned copyright in graphical charts produced by options-trading software.
Warhol v. Goldsmith: licensing an image of Prince
The Warhol Foundation licensed an image based on Lynn Goldsmith’s Prince photograph for a magazine.
Graham v. Prince: a photograph in New Portraits
Richard Prince incorporated an Instagram post containing Donald Graham’s photograph into a printed work.
VG Bild-Kunst: framing images from a digital library
A collecting society sought a licensing condition requiring technical protection against framing.
Brompton: a folding bicycle and creative freedom
Brompton claimed copyright in the shape of a folding bicycle previously covered by a patent.
Response Clothing: a woven wave pattern
A clothing supplier alleged that a retailer commissioned fabric copying its woven wave design.
Bauret v. Koons: a photograph adapted into Naked
Jean-François Bauret’s heirs challenged Koons’s use of his photograph Enfants in creating the sculpture Naked.
Cofemel: copyright in clothing designs
G-Star claimed copyright in designs for jeans and other clothing.
Brammer: a photograph on a festival website
A film festival website used Russell Brammer’s photograph of a Washington neighborhood to illustrate a guide.
Davidson: a postage stamp depicted the Las Vegas Liberty replica
The U.S. Postal Service used a photograph of Robert Davidson’s Las Vegas statue on a stamp.
Folkens v. Wyland: dolphins in a natural pose
Pieter Folkens alleged that a marine painting copied the arrangement of dolphins in his drawing.
Star Athletica: graphic designs on cheerleading uniforms
Two apparel companies disputed copyright in the lines, colors and shapes used on uniforms.
Cheffins: a ship built over a school bus
Artists turned a bus into a mobile replica of a Spanish galleon and sued after it was destroyed.
.jpg){kind=link}
Katz v. Chevaldina: a photograph used in criticism
A blogger reproduced a photograph of real-estate developer Raanan Katz in posts criticizing him.
Klasen v. Malka: photographs incorporated into paintings
A painter used elements of fashion photographs in several paintings and invoked freedom of artistic expression.
Art & Allposters: transferring a poster image onto canvas
A seller transferred images from licensed paper posters onto canvas for resale.
.jpg){kind=link}
Harney v. Sony: recreating a news photograph
A television film recreated a news image showing a father carrying his daughter on his shoulders.
Monge: unpublished wedding photographs in a magazine
A magazine printed photographs from a private celebrity wedding without the couple’s permission.
Donner: cross-border sales of designer furniture
Reproductions of designer furniture were marketed to German customers and delivered from Italy.
Temple Island: the red bus and Westminster
A tea company used a red London bus against a monochrome Westminster background on its packaging.
Flos: copyright and the Arco lamp
Flos challenged the sale of a competing lamp based on the Arco design.
MASS MoCA v. Büchel: moral rights in an unfinished installation
An artist and a museum disagreed about the handling and proposed presentation of a large unfinished installation.
Elwood v. Cotton On: artwork printed on clothing
Elwood alleged that Cotton On copied layouts from graphic designs used on its clothing.
Meshwerks: digital models of Toyota vehicles
Meshwerks made digital wireframe models intended to reproduce the appearance of Toyota vehicles faithfully.
Peek & Cloppenburg: displaying reproduction furniture
A retailer placed reproductions of protected furniture in its sales areas and windows.
Perfect 10: thumbnails in an image search engine
An image publisher challenged the display of thumbnails and access to full-size images through search results.
.jpg){kind=link}
Tiseo Architects: alleged copying of site plans
One architecture practice claimed that a rival copied a design and site drawings for a pool-supply business.
Blanch v. Koons: a fashion photograph in a collage
Koons adapted part of Andrea Blanch’s fashion photograph for his painting Niagara.
Phillips: relocating site-specific public sculpture
A sculptor objected to changes to a Boston park where his site-specific work was installed.
Meskenas: a magazine credited the wrong portrait painter
A magazine published a photograph in which a portrait by Vladas Meskenas appeared and attributed the painting to another artist.
Bill Graham Archives: concert posters in a band history
A Grateful Dead biography reproduced reduced images of seven concert posters and tickets.
Sahuc v. Tucker: two photographs of a New Orleans cathedral
Two photographers depicted St. Louis Cathedral from the same gate in misty conditions.
Amar Nath Sehgal: the removal of a public mural
A sculptor challenged the removal and treatment of his bronze mural commissioned for Vigyan Bhavan.
Pollara: a painted banner made for an advocacy event
An artist sought relief after a banner she painted for an advocacy event was removed and damaged.
Kelly: a photographer’s images in search thumbnails
A search engine created reduced versions of Leslie Kelly’s photographs to index images online.
Satava v. Lowry: glass jellyfish and originality
Two glass artists disputed similarities between their sculptures depicting jellyfish.
Théberge: transferring artwork from paper to canvas
Galleries lifted the ink from authorized posters and transferred it onto canvas.
Leicester: street sculptures in Batman Forever
An artist challenged the appearance of towers associated with a Los Angeles building in a film.
Designers Guild: a floral textile design
A fabric designer alleged that another company copied expressive elements of a striped floral design.
Núñez: photographs at the center of a news story
A newspaper published modeling photographs of a beauty queen amid a public controversy about the images.
Bridgeman v. Corel: faithful photographs of old paintings
An art-image library claimed copyright in photographic transparencies of public-domain paintings.
Sandoval: photographs in the background of Seven
The film Seven included the photographer’s prints in several dim background shots.
Leibovitz v. Paramount: parodying a magazine portrait
A film advertisement recreated the pose and composition of Annie Leibovitz’s portrait of a pregnant Demi Moore.
Rogers v. Koons: a puppy photograph recast as sculpture
Jeff Koons commissioned a sculpture based on Art Rogers’s photograph of a couple holding puppies.
Snow: ribbons on the geese of Flight Stop
Toronto’s Eaton Centre put holiday ribbons on the geese in Michael Snow’s suspended installation.
Mazer v. Stein: statuettes made into lamp bases
Sculpted statuettes were manufactured and sold as lamp bases.
Museumsfotos: photographs of public-domain paintings
A Wikimedia contributor uploaded scans of museum photographs and photographs he took at the museum. The paintings themselves were in the public domain.
Gaylord v. United States: a memorial sculpture on a stamp
The U.S. Postal Service used a photograph of Frank Gaylord’s sculpture The Column, part of the Korean War Veterans Memorial, on a postage stamp.
Renckhoff: reposting a photograph on a school website
A pupil used a photograph of Córdoba in a school project that was posted on the school website. The image had previously been published on another website with the photographer’s permission.
Fait d’hiver: from an advertising photograph to a sculpture
Photographer Franck Davidovici challenged Jeff Koons’s sculpture Fait d’hiver, which reproduced elements of his fashion advertisement. The dispute also concerned display and reproduction in exhibition publications.
Wikimedia Sverige: putting photographs of public art online
A Swedish online database displayed photographs of artworks permanently installed in public places. The question was whether the public-place exception covered online publication by the database operator.
Cariou v. Prince: photographs in appropriation art
Richard Prince used Patrick Cariou’s photographs in works from the Canal Zone series. The appeal considered whether the resulting works qualified as fair use.
5Pointz: the destruction of street art
The owner of the 5Pointz property in Queens had murals whitewashed. The artists sought damages under the Visual Artists Rights Act.
Seltzer v. Green Day: street art in a concert video
Green Day used a modified version of Derek Seltzer’s Scream Icon in a video backdrop during concerts.
Rentmeester v. Nike: the photograph behind a disputed pose
Photographer Jacobus Rentmeester alleged that Nike’s photograph of Michael Jordan and the resulting Jumpman logo infringed his earlier photograph.
Kienitz v. Sconnie Nation: a portrait on protest shirts
A clothing seller used elements of Michael Kienitz’s photograph of Madison’s mayor to make a political image for T-shirts and tank tops.
Lucasfilm v. Ainsworth: reproducing a Star Wars helmet
Lucasfilm challenged the making and sale of replica Stormtrooper helmets, raising questions about sculpture, functional props and cross-border enforcement.
Cinar v. Robinson: copying elements of an illustrated series
Claude Robinson alleged that an animated television series copied expressive elements of the project he had developed, including character and setting elements.
Raj Rewal: the demolition of the Hall of Nations
Architect Raj Rewal invoked his moral rights after the demolition of the Hall of Nations complex at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
Tokyo apple illustration: copying and credit online
An illustrator challenged the use of an apple drawing on a website, alleging infringement of reproduction, public transmission, attribution and integrity rights.
Painer: the use of a portrait photograph in the press
A photographer challenged newspaper uses of a portrait. The reference concerned the originality of portrait photography and exceptions relevant to the press.