Joe Merante's Blog

The Second Circuit recently published its decision in Cariou v. Prince , a case involving appropriation artist Richard Prince's use of photos from photographer Patrick Cariou's book Yes Rasta . Both the art and copyright communities were watching closely, with the decision having potential implications on everyone in the art food chain (collector and gallery owner Larry Gagosian is also a defendant), technology companies and others. An analysis of some of the amicus briefs can be found here . OK, let's draw some lines. Consider whether you think Prince's Graduation (right) should be considered a fair use of Cariou's original: Now, how about James Brown Disco Ball , which takes from multiple Cariou photographs among other places: After a detailed description of Cariou's and Prince's works, the court begins its discussion of fair use and rejects the District Court's rule: "The law imposes no requirement that a work comment on the original o...

I've been thinking a lot about photographer Jay Maisel's recent legal tussle with chiptune album Kind of Bloop 's producer Andy Baio, documented in a post by Mr. Baio here .  The "chip" refers to the use or emulation of old computer or video game hardware to produce the jaggedly beautiful tones found in older video games, such as those on the 8-bit NES.  Kind of Bloop is a chiptune tribute to Miles Davis' iconic album Kind of Blue for which Baio licensed the music but failed to seek permission to use a pixelated, 8-bit version of Maisel's cover photograph. Compare Maisel's original photograph (left) with Baio's version (right) The basic issue is whether Baio's use qualifies as a fair use of the original rather than a derivative work for which advance permission would be necessary.  While I find the decision to go after Baio slightly offensive to the spirit of the music that helped propel Mr. Maisel’s career and see a stronger case in favo...