I know many of you are asked to paint a favorite sports figure on the walls of a client’s home or business. The next time you are asked, please remember the following. Please note that I will not be including images in this post for obvious reasons.
Things can get a little murky when trademarks are included in commercially reproduced artwork. The Univeristy of Alabama sued artist Daniel Moore for trademark infringement over a painting of a football player in uniform. One court recently ruled that the use of a university’s trademarks was okay in a painting of a former football player. The court concluded that “the depiction of the uniforms in the paintings is incidental to the purpose and expression of the paintings.” In other words, the artist’s first amendment rights trumped the trademark issues. from Dear Rich Patent, Copyright, Trademark Blog
This lawsuit is strongly reminiscent of a 2003 Sixth Circuit decision, holding that artist Rick Rush’s paintings–most notably one commemorating Tiger Woods’ victory at the 1997 Masters Tournament–were sufficiently “transformative” to merit protection under the First Amendment. The Court held that “First Amendment protection of [transformative] works outweighs whatever interest the state may have in enforcing the right of publicity.” from Jet Law Blog
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Grand Opening January 2011, the Cre8tive Bistro offer a 1-Stop Shoppe for ALL your PhotoShop needs. Check back often as I have 2 for Tuesday Specials on PhotoShop Textures, Brushes, Actions, Recipes and Printables.
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