Al Hirschfeld Foundation v. Margo Feiden Galleries Ltd.

Al Hirschfeld was a renowned cartoonist. Margo Feiden and her art galleries (the gallery) (defendants) began selling Hirschfeld’s works in 1969. After a dispute in 2000, the parties’ relationship was governed by a settlement agreement, which was in effect when Hirschfeld died in 2003, at which time the Al Hirschfeld Foundation (the foundation) (plaintiff) succeeded to his rights and obligations. Under the agreement’s terms, the gallery handled Hirschfeld’s originals and limited-edition lithographs, photostatic copies of his work, and giclées (high-quality reproductions produced on an inkjet printer). The agreement authorized the gallery to grant limited-purpose licenses to third parties and appointed the gallery as the exclusive representative for selling original works, licensing certain reproductions, and producing a specified number of new, limited-edition prints. The agreement also provided that the foundation retained all rights not expressly granted to the gallery and allowed the foundation to terminate the agreement for cause by giving the gallery 90 days’ written notice, defining cause as a material breach not cured within 30 days of notice. The gallery twice breached the agreement when it infringed the foundation’s copyright by making unauthorized giclée reproductions and when it failed to maintain custody or control of 20 original Hirschfeld cartoons. The foundation sued the gallery for the breaches and served a termination notice calling for the gallery to cure the breaches within 30 days. After the 90-day notice period expired, the foundation terminated its agreement with the gallery and then sought summary judgment that it validly terminated the agreement based on the gallery’s breaches. The facts supporting the foundation’s allegations of the gallery’s breaches were not disputed.