Picasso Copyright Case Reversed: The Complexity Of Fair Use

Picasso Copyright Case Reversed: The Complexity Of Fair Use

Contributing Authors: Daniel Rozansky and Jeremy Beutler According to the Court of Appeals' decision in De Fontbrune v. Wofsy, the defendants published a series of books in 1991 about the works of Pablo Picasso. The defendants' books featured a number of plaintiffs' copyrighted photographs that plaintiffs had previously published in a book that catalogued the complete works of Picasso. The parties commenced a protracted and complex legal battle in France that resulted in a decision from a French court that held the defendants liable for copyright infringement. The French court ultimately awarded the plaintiffs damages of €2 million. In the U. S. proceedings, defendants challenged the French court's decision on numerous grounds, the most notable of which was that the French judgment was repugnant to the United State's public policy protecting free expression. The defendants argued that the fair use doctrine under copyright law—a feature that does not exist in France's copyright scheme—would have protected the defendants' use of the photographs. Because the French court's judgment ran counter to U. S. law, the defendants argued, the judgment should not be enforced in the U. S. The district court agreed with the defendants and held that the defendants' use of the