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Two New Lawsuits Filed Against Major Museums
Over Works Lost During Nazi-Era Persecution01/30/2023In recent weeks, the families of two different victims of Nazi persecution have filed suit in federal court, each suing a major museum over artwork taken from their ancestors during the Nazi era. These cases continue to raise complex legal questions about the painful legacy of a brutal regime and its massive displacement of art throughout Europe during the years before, during, and after World War II.
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Grossman LLP Secures Total Victory In Second Circuit Appeal
Involving Recovery of Stolen Painting01/03/2023In late 2020, after two-plus years of litigation in multiple jurisdictions and a three-day bench trial in the Southern District of New York, Grossman LLP obtained a win in a title dispute over a painting that was stolen from a major corporate art collection decades ago and replaced with a skilled forgery. Today, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that victory.CATEGORIES : Art Galleries, Forgeries, Legal Developments, Firm Update, Stolen Artwork, Grossman LLP -
As AI-Generated Art Proliferates, So Do Legal Questions
12/08/2022
In the last few years, aided by the rise of non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”), digital art has become an increasingly important part of the art market. Now a new frontier seems to be opening up: art that is created at least in part using artificial intelligence (“AI”) technology. Indeed, just as NFTs have crossed into the traditional art market, artists who are creating using AI are likewise being welcomed onto the art scene (for example, by gaining gallery representation). As this trend unfolds, we art lawyers find ourselves wondering how AI art will interact with our current copyright system.
ATTORNEY: Kate Lucas
CATEGORIES : Art Galleries, Art Market, Copyright, Fair Use, Legal Developments -
House Fire Spawns $410 Million Insurance Coverage Dispute
Over Five Major Artworks From Billionaire’s Collection11/08/2022Art is increasingly viewed as an investment asset, and in some ways, it behaves like one. But any investment in art also has to take into account the real risk of physical damage and the legal headaches that can arise out of such damage—as one recent lawsuit reminds us.
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Goldsmith/Warhol Oral Argument At the Supreme Court Underscores the Big Issues—and Weird Wrinkles—Complicating This Case
10/18/2022
Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in the major copyright case of Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith, which could provide a significant opinion about the "fair use" defense to copyright infringement, with wide-ranging potential implications for the art world—especially appropriation art, photography, and copyright licensing and management. The oral arguments, however, underscore both the magnitude of the questions posed, and the odd aspects of the case’s path to the Supreme Court, which arguably complicate the Court’s ability to grapple with the already-complex issues it presents.
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Federal Jury in Illinois Finds Copyright Infringement of a Tattoo
10/14/2022
A recent trial has highlighted some of the unique legal issues posed by cases that seek to apply copyright law to tattoo art. At the center of the case is a group of tattoos on the back and arms of pro wrestler Randy Orton—tattoos which were then incorporated, without the artist’s permission, into a series of World Wrestling Entertainment video games as part of Orton’s appearance in the game.
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Grossman LLP Defeats Attempt to Dismiss Defamation Claim by Art Dealer Against Major Art Gallery
09/06/2022Last month, the Grossman team prevailed in defending a prominent art dealer’s complaint against a gallery’s motion to dismiss.ATTORNEY: Maria Angela Brusco
CATEGORIES : Art Galleries, Art Market, Legal Developments, Firm Update, Grossman LLP -
A Photograph, A Tattoo, and a Lawsuit:
Copyright Infringement Case Clears Summary Judgment, Heads Toward Trial07/20/2022A copyright infringement dispute now pending in a California federal court is raising interesting questions about how copyright applies to tattoo art—as well as some familiar questions about transformative use of photographs.
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Grossman LLP Defeats Summary Judgment in Securities Fraud Case Arising from Ticket-Resale Ponzi Scheme
06/10/2022
In a major win for investors with losses totaling over $5.5 million, Grossman LLP has defeated summary judgment in a securities fraud case arising from “a Ponzi scheme built on a false promise to buy and resell tickets to high-profile events like the Broadway musical ‘Hamilton.’”
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California Federal Court Weighs Copyright Questions Related To Interactive Digital Art Installations
05/31/2022
An infringement case pending in a California federal court raises some interesting questions about how copyright law applies in the context of interactive art installations—an important topic in an art market that is increasingly exploring these innovative forms and mediums.
ATTORNEY: Kate Lucas
CATEGORIES : Art Exhibitions, Art Galleries, Art Market, Copyright, Legal Developments, Trademark -
Grossman LLP Wins Summary Judgment In Dispute Over Chagall Painting Caught Up In Chowaiki Scandal
05/09/2022
In a major win, Grossman LLP has obtained summary judgment for our client in a long-running title dispute involving a Marc Chagall painting that was part of the fraudulent schemes of disgraced art dealer Ezra Chowaiki.
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Philbrick Case Sparks Discussion of Sentencing For Art Crimes
04/18/2022
The criminal case involving disgraced art dealer Inigo Philbrick has now progressed to the sentencing phase, where a judge will decide what punishment is appropriate for Philbrick. In the process, the court will likely consider larger questions about how the justice system should approach sentencing for art crimes, particularly in light of a string of high-profile art fraud prosecutions in recent years.
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Warhol Foundation Asks Supreme Court To Weigh In On Goldsmith Dispute
After Second Circuit Rejects Its Fair Use Defense01/27/2022Since 2017, we’ve been following the federal lawsuit between the Andy Warhol Foundation and photographer Lynn Goldsmith; you can read our previous posts about it here, here, and here. A few months ago, a revised opinion from the Second Circuit added further complexity to the story. And now, the Warhol Foundation has asked the Supreme Court to give its opinion on whether the fair use defense protects the Foundation from Goldsmith’s copyright infringement claims.
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Art Law Year in Review
12/16/2021CATEGORIES : Art Galleries, Art Market, Fine Art, Forgeries, Legal Developments, Money Laundering, Stolen Artwork
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Grossman LLP Obtains Complete Dismissal With Prejudice of Lawsuit by Former NBCUniversal Head Alleging Sale of Rothko Forgery
08/17/2021This week, the Grossman LLP team obtained a complete dismissal of a lawsuit filed by NBCUniversal executive Ron Meyer against art dealer Susan Seidel. Meyer’s claims focused on a 2001 art deal involving a painting, purportedly by famed abstract expressionist Mark Rothko, which turned out to be a forgery.
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In Suit Over George Washington Portrait by Gilbert Stuart, Grossman LLP Obtains Dismissal of Collector’s Claims Against Hirschl & Adler Galleries07/28/2021 -
Clothing Brand Says It Will Phase Out Logo Amid Controversy With Street Artist, But Questions About “Fluid Trademarks” Remain
07/21/2021
In early 2021, the street artist known as Futura filed a lawsuit against the North Face Apparel Corp. (“NFA”) for unfair competition, alleging that NFA illegally adopted Futura’s iconic circular atom for its outerwear line called “FUTURELIGHT.” Recently, NFA issued a public statement regarding the lawsuit, and NFA has committed to discontinuingthe use of their FUTURELIGHT logo out of deference to Futura. However, the lawsuit remains unresolved and involves novel legal issues that could affect the landscape of trademark law.
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Another Epilogue In the Long Saga Of A Looted Pissarro Painting
06/09/2021
The long-running dispute over a Pissarro painting has come to a close—yet again—after years of legal wrangling in multiple forums, and after a complex settlement arrangement collapsed in spectacular fashion. As is sadly the case in many stories involving Nazi-era art litigation, there is no dispute that the artwork at issue here was outright looted by Nazi forces in Nazi-occupied France, yet the artwork will not return to the family from whom it was wrested.
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On Appeal, Second Circuit Reverses Fair Use Ruling In Dispute Over Andy Warhol Artwork
03/30/2021
Since 2017, we’ve been following the federal lawsuit between the Andy Warhol Foundation and photographer Lynn Goldsmith. In mid-2019, a federal judge in New York dismissed Goldsmith’s copyright infringement claims against the Foundation, ruling that a series of Warhol artworks based on an image taken by the photographer were protected as fair use. But now, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed that decision, in an opinion that has potentially wide-reaching impacts for the Foundation, for appropriation art generally, and for anyone in the art world who is interested in the ongoing question of how courts handle the difficult concept of fair use.
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Supreme Court Rules Against Jewish Art Dealers’ Heirs In Suit To Recover the “Guelph Treasure,” Allegedly the Subject of a Nazi-Era Forced Sale
02/15/2021
Just a few weeks ago, we wrote about some of the Supreme Court’s most significant art-related cases from 2020, and noted that we were awaiting the Court’s decision in a long-running dispute over the so-called Guelph Treasure. In early February, the Court issued its ruling, dealing the plaintiffs, who are the heirs of a consortium of Jewish art dealers, a major blow in their attempt to seek redress for their ancestors’ loss.
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