On February 11, 2025, a U.S. District Court in Delaware issued a decision of first impression finding that a technology startup’s use of copyrighted materials to train its artificial intelligence platform infringed the copyright holder’s rights and did not constitute fair use.[1]  The Delaware District Court is the…

Continue Reading Those Who Teach, Can’t:  U.S. District Court in Delaware Issues Decision of First Impression, Finding Use of Copyrighted Materials to Train Artificial Intelligence Constitutes Infringement, Not Fair Use

In a recent mixed decision that some news outlets reported as a win for art and antique dealers and others described as a win for conservationists, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the federal Endangered Species Act and its implementing regulations do not preempt…

Continue Reading Elephant in the Courtroom:  The Second Circuit Finds No Preemption of New York State’s Ivory Law but Overturns Display Restriction

We recently reported on a preliminary injunction issued in Mary Miss v. Edmundson Art Foundation, Inc., temporarily barring the Des Moines Art Center from destroying Greenwood Pond: Double Site, artist Mary Miss’s well-known outdoor environmental art installation that is in a state of substantial disrepair due to…

Continue Reading No Relief in Site?: The Debate Continues Over Whether VARA Applies to Site-Specific Art

On January 29, 2025, the U.S. Copyright Office released Part Two of its planned reports on the intersection between copyright and generative Artificial Intelligence (“AI”).  Titled “Part 2: Copyrightability,” the Report addresses a hot issue—the extent to which AI-generated outputs are entitled to copyright protection.  The Report, after examining the…

Continue Reading Copyright Office Issues Second Report on Generative AI:  Copyright Protection Requires Human Authorship, But What Does That Mean For Generative AI?

A lawsuit pending before Judge J. Paul Oetken of the District Court for the Southern District of New York may soon underscore the need to rethink the legal remedies available for potential legal violations aided by generative Artificial Intelligence (“AI”).[1] As discussed previously on this blog, in July…

Continue Reading Lehrman v. Lovo, Inc.:  Voice Actors Take on AI Voice Generation

The recent copyright law landscape is rife with infringement lawsuits alleging that one song substantially copied the musical elements of another. As a music industry norm, songwriters frequently split the copyright of a single song with one or more co-authors, each owning exclusive rights in their respective shares of the…

Continue Reading Miley Cyrus Can Buy Herself “Flowers,” but Can She Dismiss a Copyright Infringement Lawsuit?—A Look at the Ninth Circuit’s Approach to Co-Owner Standing

On December 16, 2024, Shira Perlmutter, head of the U.S. Copyright Office,[1] provided the relevant subcommittees of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees with an update on the Copyright Office’s ambitious investigation into the intersection of generative Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) and copyright law and policy.[2]

In August 2023…

Continue Reading Copyright Office Delays Remaining Generative AI Report

On August 16, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan’s legal victory in the copyright lawsuit fellow artist Joe Morford brought against him alleging that Comedian (2019), Cattelan’s famous duct-taped banana installation at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019, infringed on…

Continue Reading Affirmed on A-Peel:  Following the Eleventh Circuit’s Affirmance of Maurizio Cattelan’s Defeat of Copyright Infringement Suit Over His Duct-Taped Banana, the Work May Soon Fetch More than $1 Million at Auction

On May 3, 2024, U.S. District Judge Stephen H. Locher of the Southern District of Iowa granted artist Mary Miss’s motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent the demolition or removal of her outdoor environmental artwork entitled Greenwood Pond: Double Site, which sits on the grounds of the Des…

Continue Reading Sculpture or Sculptural? —  A Determinant of Moral Rights Under VARA

For the fifth year running, the Chambers High Net Worth guide, which focuses on the private wealth sector, recognized HHR as one of the nation’s leading law firms for Art and Cultural Property Law.

Chambers ranked HHR’s Art Law practice in the second-highest band among the top firms nationwide. “Hughes…
Continue Reading Hughes Hubbard’s Art Practice Recognized by Chambers for Fifth Straight Year

On July 31, 2024, the  U.S. Copyright Office issued the first of several planned reports on the intersection between copyright and generative Artificial Intelligence (“AI”), following a lengthy period of public comment, during which it received more than 10,300 comments, discussed previously on this blog.  Titled “Part 1:  Digital Replicas,”…

Continue Reading Copyright Office Issues First Report on Generative AI