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Case Summary
Pushman v. New York Graphic Society, Inc.
Pushman v. New York Graphic Society, Inc., 25 N.Y.S.2d 32 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Jan. 18, 1941) (dismissing case); aff’d without opinion, 262 A.D. 729 (N.Y. App. Div. May 26, 1941); aff’d, 287 N.Y. 302 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1942).
Précis
In this 1942 New York state court case, which was overturned by the New York legislature in 1966 and by the United States Copyright Act of 1976, New York’s highest court held that when an artist sells a painting, the
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 in the piece is automatically transferred, unless the artist has taken specific steps to retain his copyright. Among the copyrights the purchaser obtains is . . . .
Associated Legal Decision(s)
Associated Statutes and/or Legislation
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