Welcome to the Artium Amore Blog
STUDENT SPEECH AND ART
On Wednesday, April 28, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. The question here is how far can a school go in punishing a student for speech that occurred off-campus? The landmark case regarding a...
STATE DEMANDS LAWYERS FOR ROBERT INDIANA’S ESTATE RETURN EXCESSIVE FEES
The Attorney General’s Office for the State of Maine filed papers with the probate court overseeing the estate of Robert Indiana asking that the court order the attorneys involved in the administration of the estate to return a significant amount of their fees,...
WILDFIRE GUTS UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN’S JAGGER LIBRARY
Wind driven wildfires in Cape Town, South Africa severely damaged the University of Cape Town’s historic Jagger Library on Sunday. The library, over 200 years old, is home to the University’s special collections, which includes rare books, photographs,...
SECOND CIRCUIT SAYS WARHOL’S “PRINCE SERIES” NOT FAIR USE
Last Friday, the Second Circuit ruled that Andy Warhol’s “Prince Series” was not fair use and sent the case back to the lower court to determine infringement damages. The case stems from a lawsuit by photographer Lynn Goldsmith. In 1981, Goldsmith took a photograph...
NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT SEMINAR
My 10 week Nonprofit Management seminar starts a week from today. It's now virtual, so you can attend from anywhere! https://ccce.necc.mass.edu/public/category/programStream.do?method=load&selectedProgramAreaId=1020358&selectedProgramStreamId=1020409
LOST MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
Last Tuesday, the New York Times posted an article about the unknown amount of art and other collections items that are missing from museums. It has garnered a great deal of discussion among “museum Twitter,” with everyone acknowledging that this is a major...
PRESENTATION 3/18: THE COPYRIGHT CONUNDRUM
We are excited be presenting, "The Copyright Conundrum: Understanding the Basics of US Copyright Law," for the Collections Care and Conservation Alliance, on Thursday, March 18th at 2pm. This presentation is geared toward small and medium-sized historic institutions...
HARVARD RETAINS OWNERSHIP OF SLAVERY PHOTOS
Late last week a judge in Massachusetts’ Middlesex County Superior Court dismissed the case against Harvard University over the ownership of a set of daguerreotypes depicting an enslaved father, Renty, and his daughter, Delia. The images were commissioned...
KNOW YOUR COMMISSION AGREEMENT
In 2019, Australian law firm Maurice Blackburn, commissioned a copy of “Fearless Girl” from its artist, Kristen Visbal. The statue was to sit outside their office and was part of the law firm’s campaign for gender equality in the workplace...
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...