Bong v. Alfred S. Campbell Art Company
United States Supreme Court
214 U.S. 236 (1909)
- Written by Sarah Holley, JD
Facts
Daniel Hernandez, a citizen of Peru, was the author of a painting entitled “Dolce Far Niente.” Hernandez assigned all rights in and to the painting to Rich Bong (plaintiff), a citizen of Germany. Alfred S. Campbell Art Co. (defendant), an American corporation, printed 1,000 copies of the painting, retitled as “Sunbeam.” Bong sued for infringement under the International Copyright Act of 1891. Notably, Germany granted the benefit of copyright to citizens of the United States on substantially the same basis as its own citizens, but Peru did not. The court of appeals affirmed the lower court’s ruling that Hernandez, being a citizen of Peru and not having the right of copyright in the United States, had no right of copyright to assign to Bong. Bong appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (McKenna, J.)
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