Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Calhoun
Student Number: 0004619366
May 12th, 2015
FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY
Graphic Design Bachelor of Science Degree Program - online
Intellectual Property and Law - Mary Franke
2.4: Copyright Case Study
Objective:
In this assignment, the student will learn how read and analyze a legal case to determine the
important, relevant issues and the law involved in the courts decision.
Specifications:
Read Rogers v. Koons, from:
http://openjurist.org/960/f2d/301/rogers-v-koons
Check out the images involved here:
http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/martin/art_law/image_rights.htm
Scroll down to the middle of the page under the heading Appropriation Art. You cant miss
the picture of the blue puppies.
Based on the case, answer the following questions:
1. Who are the parties involved in case, i.e. the plaintiff and defendant? List some details of
their work & background.
At the time of the case:
Plaintiff Art Rogers, 43, was a professional artist-photographer. He lived in Point Reyes,
California, where he also had a studio. He made a living from his photographic works. He
work was published, and featured in exhibitions across the U.S. and installed in museums.
Defendant Jeff Koons, 37, was an artist and sculptor living in New York City. He has a
Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art. He had previously
worked for the Museum of Modern Art in New York and as a broker. His work has been
featured in many exhibitions and galleries.
2. What was the issue in the case?
Koons created a sculpture that was literally derived from a Rogers photograph.
3. What was the original artwork that was central to the case?
Rogerss photograph Puppies (1980) was the original artwork.
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12. What evidence does the court find that proves the unauthorized copying element?
The facts that Koons actually gave the photograph to the artisans he hired with written
instructions to copy the photo in exacting detail.
13. How does the court define substantial similarity?
"whether an average lay observer would recognize the alleged copy as having been
appropriated from the copyrighted work"
(Ideal Toy Corp. v. Fab-Lu Ltd., 360 F.2d 1021, 1022 (2d Cir.1966))
14. Does the court say that Rogers had a copyright in the idea of the photograph with the
puppies, or a copyright in the expression of that idea?
The court said that Rogers had a copyright in the expression of the idea.
15. What was the final decision- did the sculpture infringe the copyright in the photograph?
The sculpture infringed upon Rogers copyright of the photograph.
Deliverables:
You must type your answers in complete sentences and use your own words; spelling and
grammar must be correct. Your answer must be at least one sentence minimum. Fill in your
answer in this document after the question in blue text. You can quote the case to support
your answer, but dont just quote or paraphrase sections of the case AS your answer. If you
dont know some of the legal terminology, you can look it up on (http://dictionary.law.com).
Your assignment should be completed in PDF or Word format, and saved as
(lastname_firstname_copyrightcasestudy).
Due Date: 11:59 pm Friday of Week 2
Rubric (see general assignment rubric in Course References):
Each question is worth a maximum of 6 points; correct spelling and grammar are worth a
maximum of 10 points.
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