Slate has a bit more on the proposed state law that will recognize publicity rights for decades after a person’s death. The law is pending in the Massachusetts House Committee. Note the section on holograms and how a celebrity’s image can be used as a trademark. Interesting.

Donn Zaretsky explains how the media is getting this copyright and trademark lawsuit between the Velvet Underground and The Warhol Foundation all wrong.

Here’s The New York Post article.

Contemporary art has been — at least since Pop Art — plagued with a legal burden. Warhol, Lichtenstein, Koons, Murakami, Prince, are but a few artists who have faced threats of litigation or actual lawsuits. It is believed by some that the Pictures Generation absorbed post-structural theories surrounding the death of the author while helping to propel certain post-modern theories.

Artist Shepard Fairey, creator of the 2008 “Hope” poster of Obama and party to a bitter copyright battle against the Associated Press, was sentenced in federal court in Manhattan today to two years of probation and fined $25,000 for tampering with evidence in the case. Government prosecutors had argued that Mr. Fairey should serve time for his actions and he faced up to six months in prison.

AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt commented, “After spending a great amount of time, energy and legal effort, all of us at The Associated Press are glad this matter is finally behind us. We hope this case will serve as a clear reminder to all of the importance of fair compensation for those who gather and produce original news content.”

More via The NY Times.

Join me and artists Eric Doeringer and Greg Allen to discuss notions of “fair use” and “transformation” with our digital culture, as well as the question of how copyright law should adapt to rapidly evolving artistic practices and whether copyright law might constitute a medium in and of itself. This panel was organized and will be moderated by Stephen Bury.

What: Appropriation and Intellectual Property panel

When: Friday, September 28, 2012.  2-3:30pm

Where: The New York Book Art Fair, MoMA P.S. 1

All Conference sessions are free and open to the public, and will be held in the PS1 courtyard Performance Dome. General admission is first-come-first-seated.

Legal Issues in Contemporary Art workshop at LMCC led by Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento. (Image courtesy of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council)

Clancco and Fractured Atlas are pleased to announce three new webinars for artists, arts professionals, and attorneys:

I. Should I start an arts nonprofit 501(c)(3)?
Wednesday, September 26.

II. Contracts and Agreements for Visual and Performing Artists
Monday, October 22.

III. Copyright for Visual and Performing Artists
Monday, November 12.

Each webinar will be held from 7-8:30pm EST, with time available for Q&A. You can register and participate from anywhere in the U.S. All webinars will be taught by yours truly, Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento, Esq.

You may register for any one webinar separately, or you can get a Three Webinar Session Package for a reduced fee. If you’re a Fractured Atlas member or a Clancco e-Newsletter reader, you also get a reduced fee on any single webinar or three session package!

If you’re interested in starting an arts nonprofit, or were ever curious about how to raise money for your projects without losing ownership over them, you may be interested in ” Should I Start an arts nonprofit 501(c)(3)?”

The “Contracts” webinar will cover basics of contracts, as well as must-have language for visual artists, consignment agreements, e-mail and other forms of memorializing agreements. This webinar will also touch on negotiation strategies.

Lastly, the ever-present issue of art and Copyright will be covered in my last webinar, covering the basics of copyright, what is copyrightable and what is not, what is fair use, things to consider when appropriating, and how to protect your own work and how to license it.

All webinars are in collaboration with Fractured Atlas. Hope to “hear” you there!

Disagreeing with a federal district court that earlier denied a preliminary injunction sought by a French designer after another high-fashion industry icon allegedly infringed on his trademarked red-soled shoes, a federal appeals court Wednesday said that Christian Louboutin is entitled to seek a legal remedy except when the shoes in question are entirely red.

Our guess is that an appeal is certain. Via the ABA Journal. The WSJ Law Blog has the opinion available here.