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TOP 25 ART HEISTS OF ALL TIME
For your reading pleasure: https://www.artnews.com/list/art-news/artists/greatest-art-heists-of-all-time-1234583441/
HOBBY LOBBY NAMES ALLEGED FORMER OWNER OF LOOTED TABLET IN LAWSUIT
Craft retailer Hobby Lobby has amended its complaint against Christie’s to include the alleged prior owner of a cuneiform tablet dating from approximately 1600 BCE and bearing an inscription with a portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh. In May of last year, Hobby Lobby...
DYLAN ESTATE SUED FOR ALLEGED UNPAID ROYALTIES
In December 2020, Bob Dylan sold his entire catalogue of music to Universal Music Publishing for $300 million. Dylan’s musical career spanned over six decades and produced a number of classic songs, many still in demand to this day. But Dylan...
NINTH CIRCUIT SAYS YOU WON’T BOLDLY GO
The Ninth Circuit has completely reversed the lower court ruling of fair use in Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. v. ComicMix LLC copyright infringement claim. The original case involved a mash-up of Star Trek and Dr. Seuss. The Dr. Seuss estate...
NEW COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK LAWS
Buried in the recent COVID-19 relief bill recently signed by President Trump are several important updates to copyright and trademark laws. The first is the creation of a small claims court for copyright infringement claims of up to $30,000. The...
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and creative 2021!
NEW YORK NOW ALLOWS RIGHT OF PUBLICITY TO SURVIVE DEATH
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently signed into law New York Senate Bill S5959D which extends protection for the right of publicity 40 years after the death of the celebrity in question. This means that the heirs to a deceased celebrity’s right to...
NAZI ERA PROVENANCE CASES HEARD BEFORE US SUPREME COURT
Last week the US Supreme Court heard arguments in the Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp and the Republic of Hungary v. Simon, with both cases stemming from property that was confiscated during the Nazi era. At question was whether claimants to the property in...
NO LESSONS LEARNED FROM 5POINTZ
After 50 years, San Francisco’s oldest gay bar, “The Stud”, was sold to a new owner. One of the famous features of this historic bar was a series of murals painted on the exterior in June 2017 to commemorate Pride Month. These murals were...
DUE DILIGENCE IN ART SALES, OR THE LAW MAY FALL ON YOU
The London Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling requiring Fairlight Art Ventures, a co-vendor of a forged painting to return its share of the profit from the sale of the painting. The painting at issue is that of an unknown man and is signed...
GHANA AUTHORIZES COURTS FOR THE “CREATIVE ARTS INDUSTRY”
Ghana has announced judicial approval for the creation of a court specifically addressing the legal needs of the "creative arts industry". Stay tuned! https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=4296e6b2-42b2-42e4-b38b-71f8b5304bb2&l=99BGMAB
FRANCE IS RETURNING ARTIFACTS TO BENIN AND SENEGAL
Earlier this month, the French Senate unanimously voted to return 27 artifacts to Benin and Senegal within a year. The majority of these 27 items were taken from the Abomey palace in present day Benin by French forces during the 19thcentury. This is the first step...
NEW YORK STATE SUES SOTHEBY’S FOR ABETTING TAX FRAUD
New York’s Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against Sotheby’s, alleging that the auction house knowingly aided a buyer to avoid sales taxes on $27 million worth of art. The complaint states that Sotheby’s violated the New York False Claims Act when it...
BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART RECONSIDERS SALE
A mere hours before their sale, the Baltimore Museum of Art removed three paintings from Sotheby’s auction. The Museum had come under fire after announcing that it was planning to sell three paintings from its collection based on the new guidance from the American...
FAMILY HEIRLOOM STOLEN BY NAZIS RETURNED TO FAMILY
In a bit of happy news, after 86 years, a family heirloom stolen by the Nazis was returned to the family who originally owned it. Read the story here.
TWO ANTIQUITIES DEALERS INDICTED FOR FRAUD
Two antiquities dealers, Erdal Dere and Faisal Khan, were indicted by a New York grand jury for falsifying the provenances of multiple antiquities that were subsequently sold through their New York gallery. They allegedly claimed that the antiquities were...
SCOTUS REFUSES APPEAL OF 5POINTZ CASE
The US Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by the developer, G & M Realty in the 5Pointz case, leaving in place a judgment of $6.75 million against G & M Realty. The case stems from the destruction of 45 “street art” murals in...
COURT FINDS FAIR USE IN REPRODUCTION OF PHOTOGRAPH
In the recent decision of Schwartzwald v. Oath, the court in the Southern District of New York found that the reproduction of a professional photographer’s photo of actor Jon Hamm in a Huffington Post article was fair use. Schwartzwald is a professional photographer...