Public Domain Cases
The Public-Domain is a great resource for content creation but artists need to be careful that images are actually in the public domain. If you get an image from a reputable source such as the New York Public Library or the Public-Domain or the prelinger archive, you can be reasonably assured that the content is really in the public domain. Domain. But if you use less reputable sources such as a search engine, you may find things that people have uploaded and claim to be in the public domain, but that are not really.
An example of this is when an actor from the sitcom the office had their face added to a public domain repository and it was incorrectly tagged as public domain. Then many advertising agencies started to use their image without permission on products.
Fair Use
Fair-Use is a special part of the United States Copyright Act that allows the use of copyrighted works under certain circumstances.
Documentary Filmmakers Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use
CAA Interview with Suzanne Preston Blier on Fair Use - Used images of Picasso’s Demoiselles in a book and relied on fair use rather than image rights permissions.
Frye, Brian L., Image Reproduction Rights in a Nutshell for Art Historians (December 27, 2020). IDEA: The IP Law Review, Vol. 62, No. 175, 2022, Available at SSRN: Abstract or Paper - Basically says to stop asking for permission when it is not needed such as public domain artworks or when working on scholarship.
Picasso images French vs US Court rulings French courts found that the use of the photographs of Picasso’s work was infringing but US courts said that it was fair use.
https://shows.acast.com/ipse-dixit
Photos of Artwork Cases
Bill Graham Archives v. Dorling Kindersley Ltd (Greatful Dead Posters)
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca9/11-56573/11-56573-2013-08-07.html
https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5845890683658306826&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr
Plagiarism Examples
Plagiarism is not just something that you learn not to do in school, it really happens and can ruin your career and reputation. Below are examples of plagiarism in the professional world with real consequences.
NYTimes: Trump National Security Team Gets a Slow Start
Examples of Artists’ Copyright Cases
Pages
External Links
Getty sues Stability AI for copying 12M photos and imitating famous watermark | Ars Technica
Jury finds Ed Sheeran did not infringe on the copyright of ‘Let’s Get It On’ - CNN
Maurizio Cattelan’s banana art not copyright infringement, judge rules - The Washington Post
Tintin heirs lose legal battle over artist’s Edward Hopper mashups | Comics and graphic novels | The Guardian
Nirvana Face Copyright Suit Over Use of Dante’s ‘Inferno’ Illustration – Rolling Stone
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/nirvana-copyright-lawsuit-dante-inferno-1164820/amp/
Twisted Sister awarded $1.2m from Clive Palmer over copyright claim - BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56938865
Museum Wins Case Against Photographer Who Claims It Stole His Photo | PetaPixel
US court sides with photographer in fight over Warhol art
Kat Von D Sued Over Tattoo Of Miles Davis
Miffy with a beak, Eric Cartman from South Park in Balenciaga – artists deny plagiarism and say they have appropriated cartoon characters | South China Morning Post
“Miffy with a beak, Eric Cartman from South Park in Balenciaga – artists deny plagiarism and say they have appropriated cartoon characters | South China Morning Post” https://amp.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3119142/miffy-beak-eric-cartman-south-park-balenciaga-artists-deny
Gun-Toting Couple Billed by Photog for Using Viral Photo on Greeting Cards
Satirist Tom Lehrer has put his songs into the public domain - Marketplace
https://www.marketplace.org/2020/10/21/satirist-tom-lehrer-put-his-songs-into-public-domain/
Disney’s Pixar sued by artist over alleged stolen art in ‘Onward’ movie - Business Insider
https://www.businessinsider.com/disney-pixar-onward-movie-san-francisco-art-unicorn-van-2020-2
KLF assert justified and ancient copyright claim to block documentary | The KLF | The Guardian
Obsessed With the ‘Bad Art Friend’ Case? We Are, Too. Here’s How a Recent Art Copyright Decision Could Shape the Outcome
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/kidney-donation-story-copyright-2017763/amp-page
The Complicated Story Behind Jasper Johns’s Dispute With a Cameroonian Teen Over a Drawing of a Knee (It Has a Happy Ending) | Artnet News
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/jasper-johns-used-teenagers-knee-drawing-2016175
Solo Cup Company Got Artist’s Instagram Nuked for Using Famous Jazz Pattern - VICE
“CodeAndTheory(Official) @GeorgeGallegos Jaws, Bruce from Finding Nemo, Don Lino from Shark Tale, Sharpedo the Pokemon, Sharknado, Jabberjaw” http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/06/katy-perrys-lawyers-hate-fun-things/
http://mashable.com/2014/09/04/disney-deadmau5-trademark-battle/
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/18/business/dalian-logo-design-disney-copy-intl-hnk-scli/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/20/business/media/streaming-product-placement.html
https://www.futurity.org/1923-copyright-protections-1973062-2/
https://electrek.co/2020/04/06/tesla-trouble-hal9000-sentry-mode-switches-portal-turret/
https://nypost.com/2020/08/08/hershey-engaged-in-trademark-battle-with-brooklyn-artist/
https://www.iphoneincanada.ca/news/apple-legal-action-pear-logo/
Jeff Koons Is Found Guilty of Copying. Again.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/20/tech/peloton-lawsuit-music-licensing-infringement/index.html
Lizzo Sued Back by Songwriters Over ‘Truth Hurts’
‘This Land Is Your Land’ Is Still Private Property, Court Rules