Basquiat v. Baghoomian

1992 Copyright L. Dec. ¶ 26,824 (1991)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Basquiat v. Baghoomian

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
1992 Copyright L. Dec. ¶ 26,824 (1991)

  • Written by Heather Whittemore, JD

Facts

In 1988 painter Jean-Michel Basquiat died, and his father, Gerard Basquiat (plaintiff), became the administrator of his estate. Vrej Baghoomian (defendant), a gallerist who operated the Vrej Baghoomian Gallery, planned an exhibition of Jean-Michel’s work. To accompany the exhibition, Baghoomian spent approximately $116,000 creating a book containing photographs of the artwork from the exhibition. Included in the book were photographs of 69 paintings and prints that the estate had registered with the United States Copyright Office. Baghoomian produced 4,000 copies of the book and received approximately $59,000 from its sales, with a net loss of about $57,000. Gerard filed a lawsuit in federal district court against Baghoomian, claiming that Baghoomian had committed copyright infringement by including photographs of the copyrighted paintings and prints in the book without receiving permission or paying royalties to Jean-Michel’s estate. Gerard filed a motion for partial summary judgment. To support his motion, Gerard claimed that he and the estate had canceled plans to create a book of Jean-Michel’s work because of Baghoomian’s book. Baghoomian opposed the motion, arguing that the book constituted fair use under copyright law.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Freeh, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership