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1: Marvel Finally Beats a Lawsuit Over the ‘Iron Man 3’ Poster
First off today, Eriq Gardner at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that, after more than four years, Marvel entertainment has emerged victorious in a lawsuit filed against it over a poster for the film Iron Man 3.
The lawsuit was filed by Horizon Comics Productions, which claimed the poster was extremely similar to a drawing Horizon had created for a comic name Radix. According to the lawsuit, the two works shared a nearly identical pose and structure, creating a very similar look and feel.
But, while that argument was enough to get past a motion to dismiss, it wasn’t enough to escape summary judgment. Once the two sides began exchanging evidence, according to the judge, Marvel was able to provide a great amount of proof of independent creation while Horizon’s arguments amounted to mere speculation. Furthermore, the judge ruled that there simply wasn’t enough similar between the two works to move the case forward to a trial.
2: Disney Warns VidAngel Will Still Infringe Copyright Despite $62 Million Court Ruling
Next up today, Ben Wodecki at IPPro reports that Disney has filed a motion in the VidAngel case to warn the courts that the company many and likely will continue to infringe Disney’s copyright despite the $62 million judgment against them.
Disney was one of the studios that filed the lawsuit against VidAngel. In a previous incarnation, VidAngel provided a faux-streaming service by which users would “purchase” a DVD for $20, stream it (filtering out any unwanted content) and then “sell” it back for $19. The studios filed a lawsuit alleging that this was tantamount to an unlicensed streaming service and won the case with a jury awarding them $62 million in damages.
However, even with that judgment, Disney is concerned that VidAngel may resume infringement without a permanent injunction. VidAngel now as an add-on to existing, legitimate, streaming services but the company has not posted filters for content by Disney. However, the company is concerned that VidAngel may do so in the future and has even stated its intent. VidAngel, on the other hand, continues to claim that it never infringed any content, even in its previous incarnation.
3: Artist Cady Noland Refuses to Give Up Her Legal Fight Over the Restoration of Her Disavowed Log Cabin Sculpture
Finally today, Sarah Cascone at Artnet News reports that artist Cady Noland is not giving up her legal battle over a sculpture she created but has since disavowed.
The work involved is entitled Log Cabin and was completed by Noland in 1990. However, since then, it has been “restored” by a group of art collectors in Germany that also altered the work to modify both its color, appearance and, according to Noland, meaning. However, the case was recently dismissed as the lawsuit was filed in the United States but all of the alleged infringements took place in Germany.
Still, Noland is pressing on with her case in the United States saying that the collectors have distributed photos of their modified work in the United States with the intent of selling it, though the sale fell apart due to Noland disavowing the work. The collectors, however, say that such distribution is a clear fair use and still a non-infringing action.
The 3 Count Logo was created by Justin Goff and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.
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