Plans, drawings, and related design documents are needed at all stages of a construction project, from early concepts and permitting to site preparation and construction itself. Many professionals in construction and property...more
The Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has officially launched its highly anticipated licensing framework for virtual asset service providers (VASPs), ushering in a new era of regulatory oversight for virtual...more
A recent Second Circuit case has brought the debate surrounding contentious art and intellectual property rights to the forefront. The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that Vermont Law School's decision to...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed that the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA) does not prohibit covering an artist’s mural where there is no damage to the mural. Samuel Kerson v. Vermont Law...more
Addressing for the first time whether federal res judicata law recognizes the alternative determinations doctrine, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit determined that a plaintiff’s claims under the Visual Artists...more
There are many common misconceptions about copyrights and other rights associated with the ownership and control of a creative work, such as moral rights. These misconceptions often result in poor contract drafting, which can...more
The Lillian Corporation purchases a vacant and dilapidated office building with plans to demolish it and build luxury condos. Only one thing stands in the way: a mural on the side of the building painted years earlier by a...more
As you may recall from our prior posts regarding the advisory jury verdict and subsequent district court ruling in the 5Pointz litigation (Cohen et al v. G&M Realty LP et al.), in 2018, Judge Block in the U.S. District Court...more
Too bad that on Oct. 5 the Supremes passed on applying a due process determination to define the “recognized stature” of art. The Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (“VARA”) gave visual artists limited “moral rights” in their...more
G&M Realty (G&M), the owner of the famous New York City graffiti space known as 5Pointz, asked the Supreme Court to strike down as unconstitutional the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA), a federal copyright law that provides...more
On Monday, G&M Realty, a real estate development company, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a $6.75 million damages award that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered in favor of a group of...more
In response to the death of George Floyd and a public outcry for social justice reform, on June 5, 2020, a team of eight artists joined a group of community volunteers to create a street mural with letters fifty feet in...more
The use of copyright to protect street art is on the rise. While street artists should be aware of their rights under copyright law, building owners should also be aware that authorizing street art on their buildings without...more
Under what circumstances can a building owner legally remove artwork from a building? In 2018, a group of graffiti artists was awarded $6.75 million dollars for the improper removal of their art. On February 20, 2020, the...more
The Second Circuit recently affirmed that a developer’s whitewashing of street art painted at the “5Pointz” warehouse complex in Long Island City was a violation of the Visual Artists Rights Act (“VARA,” codified at 17 U.S.C....more
In a major victory for street artists, the Second Circuit on Feb. 20, 2020, affirmed a lower court’s decision that awarded $6.75 million in statutory damages to aerosol artists whose graffiti art on a warehouse was destroyed...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed that plaintiffs-appellees’ temporary artwork had achieved appropriate stature to be protected by the rarely invoked Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA), and that an...more
A $6.75 million judgment was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, against a developer that whitewashed 45 spray-painted artworks on its site — several months before the demolition permits were issued....more
Last week, the Second Circuit issued a landmark decision clarifying the types of work protectable under the federal Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) in Cohen v. G&M Realty L.P. The decision confirms that graffiti art is a...more
The February 2020 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses a landmark decision regarding the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA), the release of the 2020 International IP Index, Prince Harry and Meghan...more
On February 20, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided Castillo v. G&M Realty L.P., holding that aerosol artwork with a short lifespan may still achieve “recognized stature” under the Visual...more
Tattoos, one of the oldest art forms in the world, are all over the legal news in recent years. The news runs the gamut from a tattooist suing a movie studio over replication of Mike Tyson’s facial tattoo in The Hangover II...more
Public art has become increasingly prevalent at corporate headquarters and commercial properties. Some companies use it to beautify buildings or campuses that they own. Many commercial real estate developers have installed it...more
To many, the names “Rocky Balboa” and the “Italian Stallion” are as universal and front of mind as the names “Chuck Wepner” and the “Bayonne Bleeder” are regional and tucked into (or have already fallen out of or never made...more
U.S. Supreme Court Internet Sales Tax Decision and Property Values - Your editors do not need to belabor the point that brick and mortar retail occupancies, rents and values have been pounded as a result of internet...more