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Case Summary
Franklin Mint v. National Wildlife Art Exchange
Franklin Mint Corp. v. Nat'l Wildlife Art Exch., Inc., No. 76-1935 (E.D. Pa. 1977), aff’d, 575 F.2d 62 (3d Cir. 1978), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 880 (1978).
Précis
In 1972 Ralph A. Stewart, chief operating officer of National Wildlife Exchange, Inc., asked wildlife artist Albert Earl Gilbert to paint a picture of cardinals, with the understanding that the National would reproduce the painting for sale in a limited edition. Stewart paid Gilbert $1500 for “Cardinals on Appleblossom” and wrote on the payment check’s reverse “For Cardinal painting 20 X 24 including all rights – reproduction, etc.” In 1975 Gilbert painted “The Cardinal,” a painting with similarities to “Cardinals on Appleblossom” for Franklin Mint Corp. to reproduce and sell. National sued Franklin for
copyright infringement
The act of violating any of a copyright owner's exclusive rights granted by law. In the United States, a copyright owner has several exclusive rights in copyrighted works, including the rights (a) to reproduce the work, (b) to prepare derivative works based on the work, (c) to distribute copies of the work, (d) for certain kinds of works, to perform the work publicly, (e) for certain kinds of works, to display the work publicly, (f) for sound recordings, to perform the work publicly, and (g) to import into the United States copies acquired elsewhere (Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)).
copyright infringement and
defamation
1) The act of harming the reputation of another by making a false statement to a third person; 2) A false written or oral statement that damages another's reputation (Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)).
defamation, and . . . .
Associated Legal Decision(s)
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