Annie Lee and Annie Lee & Friends Company, Inc., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. A.R.T. Company, also known as Albuquerque A.R.T. Company, Defendant-Appellee., 125 F.3d 580

Summary

Plaintiff artist sold her creations to various stores and one store sold some of plaintiff's postcards and lithographs to defendant art company which mounted the works on ceramic tiles and resold them. Plaintiff brought suit against defendant for monetary and injunctive relief under 17 U.S.C.S. § 106(2), alleging that the tiles were derivative works that could not have been sold without her permission. The district court entered summary judgment in favor of defendant. On appeal, the court held that defendant's mounting of plaintiff's work was not a derivative work, as it was not an original work of authorship, nor did it recast, transform, or adapt plaintiff's work. The court held that originality was essential to a derivative work. The court held that § 106(2) created a separate exclusive right to prepare derivative work and the statute did not cover plaintiff's claim. The court affirmed the order from the district court.