Decorated Infringement

Ringgold v. Black Entertainment

Television (BET)

Amber Chastain

Intro of Library & Information Sciences, LIBM 6320 Dr. Wendy RickmanNovember 21, 2011

Faith Ringgold (b. 1930 in Harlem, NYC) is a contemporary artist whose workis well known in the art world. Ringgold creates large story quilts that reflectAfrican American culture through both visuals and text.

Ringgold’s original artworks can be seen in museums such as MOMA and the MET. Ringgold has also published books that feature some of her works, such as “Tar Beach,” 1988 (“Faith Ringgold,” Where you can see my art…, 2002).

The High Museum of Art has purchased the rights to sell poster prints of Ringgold’s artwork titled “Church Picnic.”

The Plaintiff

Faith Ringgold [photograph] (n.d.) Photographer Grace Matthews

http://www.faithringgold.com/

To see Faith Ringgold’s work visit her website at:

Black Entertainment Television bought the rights to the show Roc, named for the main character Roc Emerson, and began airing reruns of the show in 1994.

Roc is a comedy/drama about a fictionalized African American family living in Baltimore.

In one episode, Roc and his wife attended a service inside of a church that had a large poster of Faith Ringgold’s “Church Picnic” displayed.

The Defendant

Freeze frame from Introduction of Roc sitcom. (1992)

• The case went to the Southern District Court of New York in 1996.

• The court ruled in favor of BET, stating the producers of the show legally used Ringgold’s work under fair use and the claim was de minimis.

• In 1995, Ringgold saw the Roc episode where her art was used as a wall decoration and filed a suit against BET.

• She had not been notified that her work was to be used, nor was she paid any royalties for its use.

Life’s not Fair…

Top: Image From Microsoft Clip Art. Accessed on November 15, 2011

The first factor to consider when seeking fair use is “the purpose and character of the use, including whether use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes” (“Copyright,” Fair Use, November, 2009).

Roc’s use of Ringgold’s artwork was purely decorative, thus it did not serve any educational purpose.

The case was appealed in 1997 based on the belief the court’s ruling failed to utilize the first and fourth factor of fair use correctly during its assessment of the case.

APPEAL

Above: Image From Microsoft Clip Art. Accessed on November 15, 2011

The fourth factor to consider when seeking fair use is “the effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work” (“Copyright,” Fair Use, November, 2009).

Originally, the court ruled that use of the poster on the show would not cause a decrease in poster sales.

$ $ $

Above: Museum store at High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA. [photograph]

Retrieved from High Museum of Art Website.

The appeal stated poster sales were not the issue to begin with – the problem was BET had not paid Ringgold any royalties for a licensed use of her work (Ringgold v. Black Entertainment TV, 1997).

Ringgold had sold licenses for the use of her work to other television shows and movies.

The results of the case would have a negative effect on her ability to make profit from her artwork.

The case was reversed in 1997 in favor of Ringgold.

Why It’s Important

If a copyrighted artwork is used as decoration in a television show or movie, according to the Copyright Royalty Board a license should be purchased and royalties must be paid to the artist – even if it’s not shown in its entirety, or featured in the plot.

This court ruling protects an artist’s right to maintain the monetary value of their artwork.

Infringement

References

Matthews, Grace. (n.d.) Photograph of Faith Ringgold. (Accessed on November 13, 2011) Retrieved from http://www.faithringgold.com/ringgold/images/faith_1993.jpg

Freeze frame from Introduction of Roc sitcom. (1992). (Accessed on November 13, 2011).Retrieved from http://sharetv.org/shows/roc

High Museum of Art Store. (n.d.) [photograph] (Accessed on November 13, 2011). Retrieved from http://www.high.org/Visit/Museum-Shop.aspx

Photographs

Television Image From Microsoft Clip Art. [clipart] Accessed on November 15, 2011

“Fair Use” (2009, November). Copyright. Retrieved from http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

Ringgold, F. (2002). “Where you can see my art…” [website]. Retrieved from http://www.faithringgold.com/ringgold/collect.htm

Ringgold v. Black Entertainment TV. Docket No. 96-9329, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, as amended September 29, 1997. Retrieved from

LexisNexis.

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