Amicus Curiae Brief Filed By Graphic Artists Guild In Support Of Intellectual Property Appeal By Photographer Leslie Kelly

July 31, 2000 | For Immediate Release | New York, NY

The Graphic Artists Guild, UAW Local 3030, announced the filing of an amicus curiae brief in support of photographer, Leslie Kelly, and his pending appeal against Arriba Soft (now called ditto.com). Prepared by Robert Bernstein and Robert Clarida of the law firm, Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, P.C., the brief outlines how the original ruling "will deny artists the right to control and profit from the use of their creations, and will accordingly have an immediate and severe chilling effect on authors and artists, in all media, who would otherwise eagerly embrace the Web as a means of sharing their creative work with the world."

The appeal stems from a ruling handed down by Judge Gary L. Taylor of the United States District Court, Central District of California, Southern Division, that the vacuuming, storage and display of Kelly’s images by Arriba Soft’s visual search engine is justified under the "fair use" doctrine. He also ruled that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which prohibits the removal or "hacking" of any protective marking of an image and/or the removal of the copyright information from an image, had not been violated.

The Guild supported Mr. Kelly at the trial and committed up to $10,000 towards his legal fees from its Legal Defense Fund. Organizations supporting the Guild’s amicus curae and named in the brief include: AIGA, American Society of Journalists and Authors, Visual Artists and Galleries Association, Inc., The National Writers Union, The Picture Agency Council of America, The Association of Medical Illustrators, The Society of Illustrators.

The Graphic Artists Guild, UAW Local 3030, is a national union whose core purpose is to be a strong community of graphic artists that empowers and enriches its members through collective action.