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Case Summary
Educational Resources > Art Law and Cultural Property > Case Law and Statutes > Copyright, Moral Rights and Other Issues > Case Summary
Blanch v. Koons
Andrea Blanch v. Jeff Koons, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Deutsche, 467 F.3d 244 (2d Cir. 2006).
Précis
In 2004, photographer Andrea Blanch filed a
copyright infringement
The act of violating any of a copyright owner's exclusive rights granted by law. In the United States, a copyright owner has several exclusive rights in copyrighted works, including the rights (a) to reproduce the work, (b) to prepare derivative works based on the work, (c) to distribute copies of the work, (d) for certain kinds of works, to perform the work publicly, (e) for certain kinds of works, to display the work publicly, (f) for sound recordings, to perform the work publicly, and (g) to import into the United States copies acquired elsewhere (Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)).
copyright
A property right in an original work of authorship (including literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, and architectural works; motion pictures and other audiovisual works; and sound recordings) fixed in any tangible medium of expression, giving the holder the exclusive right to reproduce, adapt, distribute, perform, and display the work (Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)).
copyright
A property right in an original work of authorship (including literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, and architectural works; motion pictures and other audiovisual works; and sound recordings) fixed in any tangible medium of expression, giving the holder the exclusive right to reproduce, adapt, distribute, perform, and display the work (Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)).
Federal District Court
Any general jurisdiction trial court of the United States federal court system (one or more in each state). Also known as United States District Court.
summary judgment
A judgment granted on a claim or defense about which there is no genuine issue of material fact and upon which the movant is entitled to prevail as a matter of law. The court considers the contents of the pleadings, the motions, and additional evidence adduced by the parties to determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact rather than one of law. This procedural device allows the speedy disposition of a controversy without the need for trial (Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)).
fair use
A reasonable and limited use of a copyrighted work without the author's permission, such as quoting from a book in a book review or using parts of it in a parody. Fair use is a defense to an infringement claim, depending on the following statutory factors: (a) the purpose and character of the use, (b) the nature of the copyrighted work, (c) the amount of the work used, and (d) the economic impact of the use (Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)).
Associated Legal Decision(s)
Associated Statutes and/or Legislation
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