The Entertainment, Art, and Sports Law section of the New York State Bar Association has posted an article about Morris v. Young, a copyright matter involving issues related to “transformative use” and “fair use.” Click here for the full text of the decision. The district court granted partial summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff, but denied summary judgment in part because a reasonable trier of fact could find that one of the three works at issue could be considered fair use.

Dennis Morris published two books on the Sex Pistols:
Never Mind the B*ll*cks: A Photographic Record of the Sex Pistols Tour and
Destroy: A Photographic Archive of the Sex Pistols 1977

The photographs that are the subject of this lawsuit portray performances by Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten.

Russell Young created the following variations of Dennis Morris’s Sex Pistol photos:
- “Sex Pistols in Red” – “cropped slightly to more closely frame the subjects and tinted in a deep red color.”
- “Sex Pistols” – “depicts the Subject Photograph, printed using black enamel on an acrylic background.” Young “altered the colors and shades, deepened the contrast between the black and white portions of the image, and added ‘grittiness’ to the image by printing it in black enamel on an acrylic background.”
- “White Riot + Sex Pistols” – two images of the photograph side-by-side, “with a Union Pacific logo and the words “White Riot” and red stars graffitied atop the images.”

The court denied summary judgment for the “White Riot + Sex Pistols” piece, finding that it “bears certain aesthetic characteristics that raise the question of transformation, and, by extension, fair use.”

“[U]nlike the other two Accused Works, ‘White Riot + Sex Pistols’ incorporates images beyond the band itself and arranges them such that the composition may convey a new message, meaning, or purpose beyond that of the Subject Photograph.”

Citing the Supreme Court’s decision in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music Inc., 510 U.S. 569 (1994), the court held there were issues of fact “as to whether the work does more than ‘merely supersede the objects of the original creation,’ and therefore a trier of fact may reasonably deem it transformative. Campbell, 510 U.S. at 579. The transformative character of a work bears upon the weight and meaning of the other fair use factors.”

[And just for kicks: Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks (1977)]

Heraty Law is celebrating its 10th anniversary by hosting a “pick a prize” raffle for the benefit of Women, Action & the Media (aka WAM!). The event is being produced by Emily Cavalier of Mouth of the Border/Midnight Brunch.

The anniversary party/benefit raffle will be held on September 24, 2012, at Chef Paul Gerard‘s new restaurant, Exchange Alley, in the East Village.

You are invited! You must be on the guest list to attend the party.
To RSVP, please click here.

The following items will be raffled off at the party on September 24th:

1. Riverpark gift certificate: $400 (dinner for four, gratuity not included)

2. Molly Crabapple print: “The Hanged Man”
19″x13″, signed, limited edition giclee archival print #16/20

3. Bing Bang/Anna Sheffield “Victory” cuff:
Brass and oxidized silver plate cuff engraved “Victory”

4. Todd James (REAS): “I Yam What I Yam”
Original lithograph 100 x 70 cm
Printed on 300 g Velin d´Arches paper
50 ex. numbered and signed by the artist

5. Baratunde Thurston, “How to Be Black” pack:
- signed, hardcover copy of New York Times best-seller “How to Be Black”
- “How to Be Black” hoody & t-shirt
- official “Black Card”

6. Steve Ellis print: “Big Candy Apple”
24″x 24″, silkscreen, framed

7. Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA): two VIP 3-day passes to WFTDA championships in Atlanta GA – November 2-4, 2012.

8. Molly Crabapple print: “Valentine’s Day (mermaid)”
9 3/8″ x 11″, signed, limited edition, deep red & shimmering gold inks #14/15

9. Bing Bang/Anna Sheffield Witches Heart necklace:
large pendant hung on a long chain amidst BB’s signature mixed metal lures and charms, includes functional locket charm

10. Molly Crabapple swag bag:
- Scarlett Takes Manhattan by Molly Crabapple & John Leavitt
- Dr. Sketchy’s Rainy Day Colouring Book by Molly Crabapple & John Leavitt
- Molly Crabapple t-shirt
- SXSW 2011 interactive bag, illustrated by Molly Crabapple

11. Bardstown Barrel Selections:

1 bottle Orange V Vodka
1 bottle Redemption Rye
1 Bottle Redemption High Rye Bourbon
1 Bottle Temptation Bourbon
1 Bottle Riverboat Rye

12. Jaclyn Friedman, author of What You Really Really Want: The Smart Girl’s Shame-Free Guide to Sex and Safety, and host of the podcast Fucking While Feminist: 1 hour sex or relationship advice consult

Click on “TARR” link for more info (most of the other links will bring you to a USPTO error page).

“If your strategy doesn’t address these aspects of the challenge at hand in some way – 1) where you are now, 2) where you want to end up, 3) what stands in between, 4) a chosen approach, and 5) a specific course of action – then you don’t really have a strategy.”

What Is Strategy? by Mike Arauz – undercurrent.com – on Findings

We received this alert from the California Secretary of State, Business Programs Division:

Secretary of State
Business Programs Division
1500 11th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 657-5448 www.sos.ca.gov

Customer Alert Regarding Misleading Solicitations

The Secretary of State’s office has been advised that solicitation letters are being sent to California businesses encouraging them to comply with their California Corporations Code filing obligations by submitting fees and documents to a third party rather than by filing directly with the Secretary of State’s office.

These solicitations are not being made by the California Secretary of State’s office and are not being made by or on behalf of any governmental entity.

The solicitations request that a fee and a completed form be submitted in order for the business to comply with applicable California or other law. The solicitations tend to have one or more of the following characteristics:

•    Appear similar to a Secretary of State Statement of Information form;

•    Contain an official-looking seal;

•    Quote a specific statute or other law on the form to be filled out and returned;

•     Imply that failing to return the form and pay the requested fee may place the entity in legal jeopardy, or might cause the entity’s filings with the California Secretary of State to be in default or non-compliant status;

•     Contain a reference to a “file number,” “Corp Number,” “Corporation Number,” or “Control Number” that does not match the number assigned to the entity by the California Secretary of State;

•     Reference or quote Corporations Code sections inapplicable to the type of entity being solicited, such as Code sections applicable to corporations when soliciting a limited liability company;

•     Reference an “annual fee” or “annual payment” rather than a filing fee and that is in excess of t he filing fee for a Statement of Information;

•     Provide an estimated processing time for “minutes” to be prepared and mailed to the entity;

•     Indicate the submitted information will be treated as private and confidential.

These companies have no affiliation with the California Secretary of State’s office and no business is required to go through another company in order to file its documents with the Secretary of State’s office.

Statement of Information forms and instructions are ·available through our website at www.sos.ca.gov/business/be/statements.htm and the fee required to file the statement is $25 for California stock and foreign corporations, and $20 for California non-profit corporations and all limited liability companies. Also, the Statement of Information can be submitted for filing directly by mail to Secretary of State, Statement of Information Unit, P.O. Box 944230, Sacramento, California 94244-2300, in person (drop off) at 1500 11th Street, Sacramento, California, 95814, or, for most corporations, by using a credit card through the internet at https://businessfilings.sos.ca.gov/.

California businesses in receipt of a solicitation letter that seems misleading or confusing can mail a written complaint along with the entire solicitation (including the solicitation letter, the outer and return envelopes, and all related documents) to the California Attorney General’s office, Public Inquiry Unit, P.O. Box 944255, Sacramento, California 94244-2550. A complaint form, which can be completed online and printed to mail, is available on the California Attorney General’s website at www.ag.ca.gov/consumers/general.php

Please note that submitting the fees and filings required by the Corporations Code to a third party for filing with the Secretary of State, does not meet the business entity’s statutory obligation to file a Statement of Information with the Secretary of State. Also, p lease note that each business entity is required to keep records, books and minutes of its proceedings, however, these items are not filed with the Secretary of State.

CUSTOMER ALERT·SOLICITATIONS (RE V 10/2009)