Manufacturer's right to register a lamp base but as to an artist's right toĬopyright a work of art intended to be reproduced for The last gives it a quirk that unjustifiably, we think,īroadens the controversy. The question presented is: Can a lamp manufacturer copyright his lamp Use the statuettes in the form of lamp bases to be made and sold in quantity United States by copyright when the copyright applicant intended primarily to Petitioners in their petition for certiorari present Their works of art, seek here a reversal of the Court of Appeals decree Subsequent utilization of a work of art in an article of manufacture in no wayĪffects the right of the copyright owner to be protected against infringementĬomplaint with infringement of respondents' copyrights of reproductions of The Court of Appeals reversed and held theĬopyrights valid. In the Rosenthal opinion, both referred to in the preceding note, the DistrictĬourt dismissed the complaint. 359.įollowing the Expert decision and rejecting the reasoning of the District Court Petitioners for infringement in Maryland. Because of conflicting decisions, we granted certiorari. Reported suits brought by respondents against various alleged infringers of theĬopyrights, all presenting the same or a similar question.

Without authorization, theyĬopied the statuettes, embodied them in lamps and sold them. The sales in lampįorm accounted for all but an insignificant portion of respondents' sales.Īnd, like respondents, make and sell lamps. Throughout the country both as lamp bases and as statuettes. Thereafter, the statuettes were sold in quantity The statute) as fully equipped lamps preceded the applications for copyright

'works of art' or reproductions thereof under § 5 (g) or § 5 (h) ofĪnd certificates of registration issued. Submitted by the respondents to the Copyright Office for registration as The resulting statuettes, without any lamp components added, were Sculpture in the form of human figures by traditional clay-model technique.įrom this model, a production mold for casting copies was

One of the respondents created original works of Respondents are partners in the manufactureĪnd sale of electric lamps. The statuettes were intended for use and used as bases for table lamps, withĮlectric wiring, sockets and lamp shades attached. The controversyĬenters around the fact that although copyrighted as 'works of art,' Copyrights obtained by respondents for statuettes of male and female dancingįigures made of semivitreous china.

Catalda fine arts lithograph