Schnader Attorney Comments on Copyright Infringement Case

Daniel J. Brooks, a partner in Schnader’s New York office, was quoted in an article titled “Color This Area of the Law Gray,” published on January 29 in The Wall Street Journal. Patrick Cariou, a photographer and author of the 2000 book Yes Rasta, filed a lawsuit in New York District Court against appropriationist artist Richard Prince, claiming copyright infringement. Mr. Prince made use of photographic images that he found in Mr. Cariou’s book for collage paintings exhibited last year in New York’s Gagosian Gallery. At issue in the lawsuit is whether Mr. Prince’s use of the images was considered to be transformative – borrowing in the process of creating something entirely new – or just stealing. This is an increasingly gray area of copyright law. Mr. Brooks, representing Mr. Cariou, said, “[Mr. Prince] didn’t transform these photographs — he just used them.”