Miami Lawyer Blog

Terry Gene Bollea v. Gawker Media, LLC - USDC M.D. Florida

The United States District court for the Middle District of Florida denied the motion for preliminary injunction by Hulk Hogan to compel removal of sex tape from website and to prevent tape from being posted on other websites, finding that tape was a matter of public concern protected by the First Amendment.

Plaintiff Terry Gene Bollea, known professionally as the wrestler Hulk Hogan, sought a preliminary injunction against defendants Gawker Media and related entities, requiring defendants to remove excerpts from a sex tape of Bollea and a woman not his wife that defendants posted on Gawker.com on or about October 4, 2012, and to prevent defendants from posting any portion of the sex tape on any other website. The district court denied his motion.

According to Bollea, six years prior to this case, he engaged in consensual sexual relations with a woman who was not his wife and the encounter was videotaped, allegedly unbeknownst to plaintiff. Defendants obtained a copy of the sex tape and posted excerpts of it on their website without Bollea's permission. Defendants allegedly have refused numerous requests from Bollea to remove the excerpts from the site. Bollea filed suit against defendants, asserting a number of claims including invasion of privacy by intrusion upon seclusion, publication of private facts, violation of the Florida common law right of publicity, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and copyright infringement, and filed a motion for a preliminary injunction.

The district court held that a plaintiff seeking a prior restraint on speech must establish that the restraint will be effective and that no less extreme measures are available. Bollea failed to overcome the presumption that the preliminary injunction would be an unconstitutional prior restraint because defendants' First Amendment rights override plaintiff's right of privacy. Noting the U.S. Supreme Court had recently recognized that the heart of First Amendment protection is speech on matters of public concern, the court reasoned that the sex tape constituted a matter of public concern, demonstrated by Bollea's public persona, his reality television show, his own book describing his affair, and his own public discussion relating to his marriage and the tape, and that the inappropriate or controversial nature of the speech does not affect whether it is a matter of public concern. The court also found that plaintiff was not entitled to a preliminary injunction because he failed to demonstrate that he would suffer irreparable harm if the tape were not removed. Embarrassment and economic loss do not justify a preliminary injunction, according to the court. In fact, noting the Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that even minimal interference with the First Amendment freedom of the press causes an irreparable injury, the court found that compelling the removal of the tape from the website would disserve the public interest. In addition, the court concluded that this was a case in which "the proverbial 'cat is out of the bag[,]'" since the tape had already been posted and injunctive relief likely would be ineffective.

Sen. Charles Schumer earlier this month presented a modified version of legislation that would put more teeth into copyright protection for fashion creations. To read an article on this published in Women's Wear Daily, please click here.

On September 20, the Innovative Design Protection Act of 2012 (S. 3523) (IDPA) was reported favorably out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. IDPA is a successor to the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act of 2010 (S. 3728), a bill also introduced by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), which failed to advance. Now out of committee, the bill will be placed on the Senate's legislative calendar.

IDPA would provide three years of protection for fashion designs that "(i) are the result of a designer's own creative endeavor; and (ii) provide a unique, distinguishable, non-trivial and non-utilitarian variation over prior designs for similar types of articles." IDPA would protect designs for clothing, including undergarments, outerwear, gloves, footwear, and headgear; handbags, purses, wallets, tote bags, and belts; and eyeglass frames.

The owner of a protected design would be able to enforce its rights only with respect to a "substantially identical" design that is "so similar in appearance as to be likely to be mistaken for the protected design, and contains only those differences in construction or design which are merely trivial."

Once notified, the alleged infringer can avoid liability by curing the infringement before an action is commenced. Even if a cure is not effected, the owner of the protected design would only be able to recover damages that accrue after the infringement action is commenced.

While the revised bill is designed to provide narrow protection for the creative efforts of designers who make innovative contributions to their fields, the bill has significant opposition from manufacturers and retailers. The objections of the bill's opponents include that the bill will make it more difficult and more costly to manufacture and sell fashionable clothing to average consumers.

The companion House bill (H.R. 2511, the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act) was referred to the House Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet in the summer of 2011, but the Subcommittee has taken no action to advance the legislation. Both Houses of Congress have adjourned until after the November elections, so no further action can occur on either S. 3523 or H.R. 2511. However, Congress will return for a so-called "lame duck" session following the election. While both manufacturers and retailers have opposed this legislation in the past, lame-duck sessions can be unpredictable and consequently both bills bear tracking and consideration by those in the fashion industry who are concerned about how the bills may impact their businesses.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. is one of the few Florida firms that has a practice group dedicated to Fashion Law. Fashion law is a specialized area of law that deals with intellectual property (copyright and trademark law, including brand licensing), domestic and international business transactions, textiles, merchandising, employment and labor concerns, and customs (import/export issues). Traditionally, most fashion lawyers work for established fashion and luxury goods companies in major urban commercial centers such as New York City, Paris, London and Milan. Some fashion lawyers work within the company, and others work outside the company for law firms.

Fashion attorneys participate in a variety of legal activities and negotiate deals for their clients. The clients may be large retail chains, haute couture labels, high-fashion models, or an unknown designers just starting out. If and when the situation arises, a fashion attorney will litigate for his or her clients in court.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A.'s group of attorneys are able to assist clients in every facet of Fashion Law.

According to a recent article, which you can read here,

"Sam Panama Trading Co. has filed a $30 million lawsuit against the [MTV] network and parent company Viacom alleging that it expected to make a ton of money selling clothing and luggage products featuring the MTV brand.

A licensing deal was signed with MTV Networks that allowed the company to offer products in 30 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, but then San Panama says it discovered that MTV and Viacom 'never registered the licensed marks and logos in many of the territories licensed to plaintiffs under the agreement.'..."

MTV and Viacom are now being sued for breach of contract. The distributors say they expected to reap more than $30 million in sales, but thanks to MTV's alleged failure to go the extra mile in protecting its logo and other marks, they say they have suffered damages to be proved at trial. The defendants, according to the lawsuit, "knew or should have known that third parties had or claimed to have the right to use the licensed marks and logos."

Attorney, Aaron Resnick, notes that it is extremely important that companies consult an attorney or situations like this will b

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. is one of the few Florida firms that has a practice group dedicated to Fashion Law. Fashion law is a specialized area of law that deals with intellectual property (copyright and trademark law, including brand licensing), domestic and international business transactions, textiles, merchandising, employment and labor concerns, and customs (import/export issues). Traditionally, most fashion lawyers work for established fashion and luxury goods companies in major urban commercial centers such as New York City, Paris, London and Milan. Some fashion lawyers work within the company, and others work outside the company for law firms.

Fashion attorneys participate in a variety of legal activities and negotiate deals for their clients. The clients may be large retail chains, haute couture labels, high-fashion models, or an unknown designers just starting out. If and when the situation arises, a fashion attorney will litigate for his or her clients in court.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A.'s group of attorneys are able to assist clients in every facet of Fashion Law. For more information contact attorney Aaron Resnick,
e the norm." According to Resnick, proper legal work may have prevented this dispute.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. is extremely proud to have developed a practice group focusing on art and cultural property law. The firm handles all types of art litigation and alternate forms of dispute resolution, and also actively represent and counsel clients in corporate and commercial art law matters.

The Wall Street Journal has an update on a proposed bill in the Senate (Schumer - NY) to revive tax incentives for fractional gifting of art to museums. Read the article here. Senator Schumer's proposed bill can be read here.

Sen. Schumer hopes to "restore the incentive for collectors to share these works of art with the public," he said.

Among other things, the proposed change allows donors 20 years to complete the donation of the gift and lets them take a tax deduction on some of the appreciation.

Here is how it would work: In the first year, if a donor who owns a $10 million painting contributes 10% to a museum, he would receive a $1 million deduction. If the donor gives another 10% the next year and the fair-market value of the artwork has increased to $12 million, the donor receives a deduction on the appreciated value, although it is limited to his 90% stake in the artwork, and thus would amount to $1.08 million.

Earlier in the year, Senator Schumer introduced a bill to permit deductions for works of art donated to charities - if (among other requirements) you can get an appraisal. This bill was introduced in February and sent to committee.

Non-litigation art lawyers at the Firm include trust and estates experts who advise visual artists and their estates on taxation and estate planning matters such as setting up foundations and donating works of art to museums.

Fashion law is a growing niche practice addressing diverse areas that affect the fashion industry, including intellectual property, financing, international trade, government regulation, real estate, zoning, dress codes, and other employment issues.

Reuters: "In fashion circles, lawyers becoming sought-after accessories"

Excerpt:

"One of the hottest new trends in fashion is emerging from an unlikely venue: law school.

Fashion law is a burgeoning niche practice in New York and Los Angeles, both hubs of the approximately $200 billion U.S. apparel market, with both legal firms and design houses hiring specialist attorneys.

Their charge is to negotiate real estate deals, advise on mergers and acquisitions, deal with employment disputes and, in some of the most high-profile work, litigate copyright claims. Those claims can be crucial to fashion labels...."

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. is one of the few Florida firms that has a practice group dedicated to Fashion Law. Fashion law is a specialized area of law that deals with intellectual property (copyright and trademark law, including brand licensing), domestic and international business transactions, textiles, merchandising, employment and labor concerns, and customs (import/export issues). Traditionally, most fashion lawyers work for established fashion and luxury goods companies in major urban commercial centers such as New York City, Paris, London and Milan. Some fashion lawyers work within the company, and others work outside the company for law firms.

Fashion attorneys participate in a variety of legal activities and negotiate deals for their clients. The clients may be large retail chains, haute couture labels, high-fashion models, or an unknown designers just starting out. If and when the situation arises, a fashion attorney will litigate for his or her clients in court.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A.'s group of attorneys are able to assist clients in every facet of Fashion Law. For more information contact attorney Aaron Resnick,

Law Offices of Aaron Resnick's Lawsuit Against the W Hotel Featured in the New York Times

Here is an excerpt from the article:

"The hotel operators sign management contracts, but they don't lock themselves in forever. One day the W South Beach could be a W and the next it could be a Sheraton.

The fine print has created work for lawyers. In June a group of pro football players sued the W South Beach's developer, 2201 Collins Fee (led by Mr. Edelstein), alleging that the developer had used a "sophisticated scheme to lure buyers to the project by using the W name as bait only to sell them a unit that was not in fact a W unit." The players are looking to get back their deposits.

'A condo hotel is a very difficult investment strategy," said Aaron Resnick, a Miami lawyer representing the football players in the suits. "It's not such an easy, simple purchase where you are going to buy and get a rent check every month. It is a lot more complicated than that.'"

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/realestate/big-deal-w-south-beach-a-sexy-investment-but-read-the-fine-print.html?pagewanted=all

Hermès Wins $100 Million Judgment in Counterfeit Case; 34 Knock Off Websites Are Forced To Shutter

Ever notice those janky looking ads for websites promising you Birkins at bargain prices and wonder how they can legally exist? Well they can't. And 34 of them-including HermesBagsOutlet.org, HermesBirkin-Bags.org and HermesOutletStore.com-were just shut down following a ruling handed down in Manhattan's federal court.

According to the New York Post, Judge Denise Cote awarded Hermès a $100 million judgment against these knockoff sites saying they were "liable for trademark infringement and counterfeiting." Shockingly, not one of the defendants showed in court.

The sites hawked fake Birkins and Kelly bags as well as accessories. The Post is reporting that payments already made in the web sites' PayPal accounts will go towards paying the $100 million awards. Sucks for those folks hoping to snag a fake Birkin on HermesBagsOutlet.org. Though we're sure, as evidenced by the screen cap (above, left) that these sites will keep cropping up.

Still, it's a big victory for Hermès. And to make sure that the shuttered sites stay shuttered, the settlement also stipulates that "Google, Bing and Yahoo stop providing links to the Web sites" and that "Facebook and Twitter 'de-index' and remove from any search results the offending sites."

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/hermesfakers_lapped_hNEk7dELnSOzQvRvtBv0RJ

Former NFL players William Joseph, Michael Bennett and Louis Gachelin have been arrested by the FBI and are charged with an identity theft and tax fraud scheme.

The Miami Herald reports that the three are among a group of several people charged with filing false tax returns in other people's names and then stealing their refunds. More details of the scheme are expected to be revealed today, when the defendants are scheduled to appear in a federal court in Miami.

According to the Herald, lax IRS oversight makes it easy to fraudulently receive tax refunds: The IRS often disperses refund money before actually checking to see that the taxes a filer claims to have paid match what the filer's employer withheld. The process the IRS uses eventually catches people who misrepresent their own taxes, but a criminal who steals someone else's identity can receive a refund in that person's name without the victim of the identity theft ever realizing it. By the time the IRS and the identity theft victim discover the erroneous refund, the money has already been taken by the identity thief -- and the IRS allows those identity thieves to have the refunds deposited onto prepaid debit cards, which are difficult to track.

Joseph was a 2003 first-round draft pick of the Giants and Bennett was a 2001 first-round draft pick of the Vikings, and the two were teammates in the final season of both of their carers with the 2010 Raiders. Gachelin was a 2004 draft pick of the Patriots who was briefly on their roster but never made it into a regular-season game.

The Film, Recording and Entertainment Council will honor Miami based attorney, Aaron Resnick, at its Star Gala to be held on November 12, 2011 wih the FREC Entertainment Law Award.

The event also honor other top industry leaders and will include the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to Jon Secada. Mr. Resnick's lifetime of work and contributions to the industry will be recognized and honored at this prestigious gala event. Mr. Resnick will be specifically honored for his tremendous impact on South Florida's film, recording and entertainment development throughout the years.

FREC is a 501 (c) 6 non profit organization focused on attracting and creating business opportunities within the entertainment industry.

Mr. Resnick's, managing partner of the boutique law firm, the Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. and founder of Faction Capital, law practice concentrates on business and commercial matters, and sports and entertainment law. His current practice also includes the personal representation of a number of current and former professional athletes in the National Football League, the National Basketball League and Major League Baseball, as well as members of the arts, fashion and entertainment world.

Resnick, a graduate of Leadership Miami, is a leader in the Miami's legal and cultural arts scene. Resnick was awarded the "Shining Star" Award by the Arts & Business Council of Miami, Inc. This award each year honors the top Miami business professional supporting the arts and cultural community. Resnick was the founding chairperson of the Friends of the New World Symphony, and now serves permanently on its Executive Committee. He served on the executive committee for numerous young patron groups in South Florida including, but not limited to: Best Buddies of South Florida, Big Brothers Big Sister's Impact Circle, Art Crowd of the Bass Museum, the Green Room Society for the Center for Performing Arts, the Tropees of the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, the Jewish Legal Society of Miami, and the MOCA Shakers amongst others. He is a Regional Board Member of the Maccabi World Union and a member of the Ben Gurion Society of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.

Currently, he is a member of the Silver Director's Circle for the Bass Museum,the President's Circle for the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Maestro's Circle for the Friends of the New World Symphony, and a Supporting Member of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts (and a member of the Green Room Society). Resnick is a board member of the Little Lighthouse Foundation, www.littlelighthouse.org, which is a Miami based charity that seeks, identifies and provides support to children and their families with health, educational, and financial challenges. Mr. Resnick received his Bachelors of Arts in Political Science with honors from Emory University and a Juris Doctor with honors from the University of Florida.

About the Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A.
The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. is a full service boutique law firm with offices in Miami, Boca Raton, Gainesville/Ocala, Jacksonville and New York City. For additional information, please go to www.thefirmmiami.com, or call 305.672.7495.

Fashion Attorney and Designer, Brittany Rawlings, was featured in Ocean Drive Magazine.

In the feature, Rawlings was queried what inspired her to work as a fashion and entertainment law attorney as well as other information about her and her practice.

Rawlings heads the firm's Fashion law department and is an active member of the Entertainment and Sports law division of the firm. Rawlings founded and successfully grew her high fashion accessories company, B.RAWLINGS, while graduating cum laude from law school. Honored as Gen Art's Fresh Face in Fashion Accessory Designer of 2010, B.RAWLINGS has since been acclaimed by international Vogue publications, Allure Magazine and People Magazine, is carried in Bloomingdales-Santa Monica, and has jeweled celebrities Lindsay Lohan, Tyra Banks, and E! TV's News host, Giuliana Rancic.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. is one of the few Florida firms that has a practice group dedicated to Fashion Law. Fashion law is a specialized area of law that deals with intellectual property (copyright and trademark law, including brand licensing), domestic and international business transactions, textiles, merchandising, employment and labor concerns, and customs (import/export issues). Traditionally, most fashion lawyers work for established fashion and luxury goods companies in major urban commercial centers such as New York City, Paris, London and Milan. Some fashion lawyers work within the company, and others work outside the company for law firms.

Fashion attorneys participate in a variety of legal activities and negotiate deals for their clients. The clients may be large retail chains, haute couture labels, high-fashion models, or an unknown designers just starting out. If and when the situation arises, a fashion attorney will litigate for his or her clients in court.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A.'s group of attorneys are able to assist clients in every facet of Fashion Law.

Fashion Attorney and Designer, Brittany Rawlings, was featured on Miami Fashion Blog.

In the feature, Rawlings was queried on how did she fall into fashion and entertainment law. Rawlings in response stated:

"I wanted to practice corporate and contract law because of my business background. The fashion and entertainment aspect came about because of the jewelry I was creating in law school. Like many new designers, with no credible legal resources in fashion and limited funds, I became a "one-man-band-stand," from drafting a business plan, to forming the legal entity, to forming and copyrighting the website, to intellectual property registrations and appeals, to manufacturing by hand, to researching and contracting an international manufacturer, to graphic designing look books and line sheets, to pitching the brand to celebrities and magazines, to requesting and attending desk side appointments with buyers, and to drafting all legal contracts. The opportunities, risks, incidents, trials and tribulations I have encountered as a designer have created a myriad of fashion law documents and agreements that, unless, I was not both a lawyer and a designer, I would not have had the insight and wherewithal to create.

I realized my friends and others in this industry also needed help in the business side of fashion, legal documents and with the same issues, so it kind of just parlayed into fashion law. Fashion law isn't a known niche of law right now, but I'm trying to develop and spread awareness of it because there's a music industry, there's a film industry but there's not something that's 'for fashion.'"

Rawlings heads the firm's Fashion law department and is an active member of the Entertainment and Sports law division of the firm. Rawlings founded and successfully grew her high fashion accessories company, B.RAWLINGS, while graduating cum laude from law school. Honored as Gen Art's Fresh Face in Fashion Accessory Designer of 2010, B.RAWLINGS has since been acclaimed by international Vogue publications, Allure Magazine and People Magazine, is carried in Bloomingdales-Santa Monica, and has jeweled celebrities Lindsay Lohan, Tyra Banks, and E! TV's News host, Giuliana Rancic.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. is one of the few Florida firms that has a practice group dedicated to Fashion Law. Fashion law is a specialized area of law that deals with intellectual property (copyright and trademark law, including brand licensing), domestic and international business transactions, textiles, merchandising, employment and labor concerns, and customs (import/export issues). Traditionally, most fashion lawyers work for established fashion and luxury goods companies in major urban commercial centers such as New York City, Paris, London and Milan. Some fashion lawyers work within the company, and others work outside the company for law firms.

Fashion attorneys participate in a variety of legal activities and negotiate deals for their clients. The clients may be large retail chains, haute couture labels, high-fashion models, or an unknown designers just starting out. If and when the situation arises, a fashion attorney will litigate for his or her clients in court.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A.'s group of attorneys are able to assist clients in every facet of Fashion Law.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. is the first Florida law firm to have a practice group dedicated to Fashion Law. Fashion law is a specialized area of law that deals with intellectual property (copyright and trademark law, including brand licensing), domestic and international business transactions, textiles, merchandising, employment and labor concerns, and customs (import/export issues). Traditionally, most fashion lawyers work for established fashion and luxury goods companies in major urban commercial centers such as New York City, Paris, London and Milan. Some fashion lawyers work within the company, and others work outside the company for law firms. Fashion Law is a quickly growing legal specialty, and several American law and design schools have dedicated clinics and courses to its study. In a 2008 article, Susan Scafidi, the first U.S. law professor ever to offer a course in Fashion Law and later Director of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham Law, wrote that Fashion Law was only then starting to be recognized as a distinct field. Since then, Deborah McNamara at Parsons The New School for Design, and Guillermo Jimenez at the Fashion Institute of Technology at the State University of New York, have also offered courses in Fashion Law. However, such courses remain rare.

The still-emerging nature of the discipline is evident from the fact that the New York City Bar Association, located in America's fashion capital, did not have a dedicated Fashion Law Committee until June 2011.

Fashion attorneys participate in a variety of legal activities and negotiate deals for their clients. The clients may be large retail chains, haute couture labels, high-fashion models, or an unknown designers just starting out. If and when the situation arises, a fashion attorney will litigate for his or her clients in court.

Fashion houses and accessory designers both face unique challenges specific to their industry. They require attorneys who understand the nature of short seasons and ever-changing product cycles, pressures surrounding counterfeit goods, and the issues of unfair competition. Valuable assets in the fashion business consist of not only intellectual property rights, but also trade arrangements, contracts, and information technology systems. A fashion attorney's career success may depend on being able to effectively protect these assets by delivering industry-specific legal advice tailored to the clients' needs.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A.'s group of attorneys are able to assist clients in every facet of Fashion Law. Brittany Rawlings heads the firm's Fashion law department. Rawlings founded and successfully grew her high fashion accessories company, B.RAWLINGS, while graduating cum laude from law school. Honored as Gen Art's Fresh Face in Fashion Accessory Designer of 2010, B.RAWLINGS has since been acclaimed by international Vogue publications, Allure Magazine and People Magazine, is carried in Bloomingdales-Santa Monica, and has jeweled celebrities Lindsay Lohan, Tyra Banks, and E! TV's News host, Giuliana Rancic. Rawlings practice focuses in the field of entertainment, corporate and fashion law. Rawlings was recently awarded Miami's Power 30 Under 30 and Business Leader Magazine's Women Extraordinaire in 2011.

The Firm's fashion law practice offers its clients assistance with:

• Copyright registration and litigation
• Trademark & trade dress registration and litigation
• Formation of business entities and business model
• Registration of domain name, Web Hosting advice and agreements;
• Website creator agreements, E-Commerce and End User website terms
• Copyrighting website design
• Monitoring and litigation of and regarding defamatory or infringing information on social media networks
• Forms for pitching to media, buyers, stylists, celebrities and tracking of fashion samples and progress
• Researching credible, authentic, eco-friendly and/or ethical manufacturers
• Merchant transactions domestically and internationally, negotiations of purchase/sale agreements, and draft of UCC/CISG terms.
• International financial and manufacturing negotiations and agreements, import and export issues, compliance with labor and product laws
• Noncompete, nondisclosure, noncircumvention and confidentiality agreements
• Commercial Agreements and Purchase order agreements
• Consignment agreements, letters of responsibility and insurance
• Wholesale and retail costs and pricing formulas.
• Public Relations Agreements
• Employment contracts, commission agreements, independent contractor agreements
• Commercial real estate lease agreements and real property purchase and sale agreements
• Publication credit agreements
• Retail placement and visual merchandising agreements
• Charity and event sponsorship, endorsement or auction agreements
• Trunk show and trade show agreements
• Ethics of gifting to celebrities, price of wrangling celebrities, promotion through celebrities, and marketing issues
• Joint Venture and/or Consolidation of fashion companies
• Factions, venture capitalists, profit sharing agreements, and financing
• Licensing and distribution agreements
• Anti-counterfeiting and piracy
• Trade practices and ethics
• Alternative approaches to business model & evaluating existing business structure
• Counseling and assistance with capital funding

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. is extremely proud to have developed a practice group focusing on art and cultural property law. The firm handles all types of art litigation and alternate forms of dispute resolution, and also actively represent and counsel clients in corporate and commercial art law matters. Recently the firm was engaged in an action with Sotheby's' Auction house, which resulted in a favorable resolution for its client. According to Attorney Aaron Resnick, Art law is actually a combination of legal concepts geared towards coping with the issues related to art creation, ownership and transactions, and is an amalgam of contracts law, trusts and estates law, litigation and statutory law at different levels. In fact, the Framers of the Constitution acknowledged the importance of the arts when they wrote that Congress shall have the power "[t]o promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries" (Art. I, § 8).

In practice art law specialists are often litigators because many of the legal issues that arise relating to artwork are actually, at their core, adversarial legal disputes. Lawyers at the Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. represent buyers and sellers of artwork in authenticity disputes, for example, or in litigation relating to provenance. Other issues that frequently arise are those specifically relating to the artists themselves -- art law litigators often represent artists whose work has been stolen (either physically or as a matter of copyright infringement) or who seek to prevent their prior work from being destroyed.

In other instances we may provide more pre-emptive advice. The Firm is often retained to advise art sellers how they may conduct sales and how to structure their art business transactions. For example, we may draft an art gallery's consignment agreement or the terms of sale which appear on each sale invoice.

Other non-litigation art lawyers at the Firm include trust and estates experts who advise visual artists and their estates on taxation and estate planning matters such as setting up foundations and donating works of art to museums.

The clients of the Law Offices of Aaron Resnick range from art buyers or collectors to art dealers, galleries, auction houses, museums and artists themselves. According to Resnick, though many clients seek the advice of their general legal practitioner at first, many disputes are better handled by experts and those who deal with specific fine art related matters. Those matters are best referred to an art law specialist.
To keep up with all the latest in Art Law news, Resnick suggests people go to http://theartlawblog.blogspot.com/. In addition, these sites are recommended:

Resale Right
The law gives artists certain rights in their creations. William Fisher, "Theories of Intellectual Property," in Stephen Munzer, ed., New Essays in the Legal and Political Theory of Property (Cambridge University Press, 2001) is recommended for those who want to explore a sophisticated introduction to why the law recognizes property interests in intellectual products. These interests can be economic or non-economic, personality rights.
Copyright
Basics
• Copyright Crash Course: University of Texas. Includes very useful "Rules of Thumb" developed at UT.
• Copyright: an overview from the Cornell Legal Information Institute
• Note particularly the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA), §§106, 106A, 107, and 113 of the Copyright Act
• Berne Convention [Roam around in this site; don't feel obliged to read the whole thing]
• U.S. Copyright Office, a useful site for basic information.
• A very extensive online collection of intellectual property laws is maintained by WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Works-for-hire
• Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid, 490 U.S. 730 (1989)
• The Government Wants Its WPA Art Back. See also Jeanette Hendler, The W.P.A. Artists Project.
Originality
• Bridgeman Art Library
• Barry G. Szczesny, American Association of Museums, Government Affairs Counsel, April 1999 American Association of Museums Annual Meeting Presentation on Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corporation.
• The Bridgeman Art Library, Ltd. v. Corel Corp., 25 F. Supp. 2d 421 (S.D.N.Y. 1998) (LEXIS | WESTLAW)
• Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp., 36 F. Supp. 2d 191 (S.D.N.Y. 1999) (LEXIS | WESTLAW)
Web Rights
• Kelly v. Ariba Soft Corp. [See also http://www.ditto.com/]
• Art, Copyright, and the Web Bibliography compiled by Jeanette Mills and Cynthia Caci (links updated August 2001)

Brittany Rawlings, head of the Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A.'s Fashion law department, is being featured in the launch of Style Saves, Inc., a non-profit charity founded by fashion stylist Rachael Russell with The Miami Foundation, on Friday, July 15, 2011. The intimate event will feature a trendsetting fashion show held on the ground level of the SOHO Beach House in the Tiki Bar. The event is set to begin with cocktails at 8:00pm. Rawlings' jewelry line, which has been recently featured in Plum Magazine, B.Rawlings, will highlight the show. Style Saves, Inc., in collaboration with local South Florida retail stores and boutiques, seeks to imbue underprivileged students with the confidence needed to achieve their full potential by providing them with a brand-new outfit for their first day of school.

"We're giving a fresh start through fashion, and building confidence through clothes," states Russell. SOHO Beach House will sponsor the event with Hors D'oeuvres courtesy of Cecconi's and drinks by Moët & Chandon Imperial Ice. Musical entertainment will be provided by Ess & Emm.

Following the fashion show, a private reception will be held on the 8th floor club pool deck of the SOHO Beach House where luxury goods and services will be silently auctioned. All proceeds from the event will go to benefit Style Saves' students.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. is one of the few Florida firms that has a practice group dedicated to Fashion Law. Fashion law is a specialized area of law that deals with intellectual property (copyright and trademark law, including brand licensing), domestic and international business transactions, textiles, merchandising, employment and labor concerns, and customs (import/export issues). Traditionally, most fashion lawyers work for established fashion and luxury goods companies in major urban commercial centers such as New York City, Paris, London and Milan. Some fashion lawyers work within the company, and others work outside the company for law firms.
Fashion Law is a quickly growing legal specialty, and several American law and design schools have dedicated clinics and courses to its study. In a 2008 article, Susan Scafidi, the first U.S. law professor ever to offer a course in Fashion Law and later Director of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham Law, wrote that Fashion Law was only then starting to be recognized as a distinct field. Since then, Deborah McNamara at Parsons The New School for Design, and Guillermo Jimenez at the Fashion Institute of Technology at the State University of New York, have also offered courses in Fashion Law. However, such courses remain rare.

The still-emerging nature of the discipline is evident from the fact that the New York City Bar Association, located in America's fashion capital, did not have a dedicated Fashion Law Committee until June 2011.

Fashion attorneys participate in a variety of legal activities and negotiate deals for their clients. The clients may be large retail chains, haute couture labels, high-fashion models, or an unknown designers just starting out. If and when the situation arises, a fashion attorney will litigate for his or her clients in court.

Fashion houses and accessory designers both face unique challenges specific to their industry. They require attorneys who understand the nature of short seasons and ever-changing product cycles, pressures surrounding counterfeit goods, and the issues of unfair competition. Valuable assets in the fashion business consist of not only intellectual property rights, but also trade arrangements, contracts, and information technology systems. A fashion attorney's career success may depend on being able to effectively protect these assets by delivering industry-specific legal advice tailored to the clients' needs.

Miami Attorney Brittany Rawlings, an associate at the Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A., was named Miami's Power 30 Under 30.

The Power 30 Under 30™ Awards honors thirty outstanding individuals under the age of thirty around the United States that have achieved extraordinary success. Young leaders are recognized from the following categories: 1) Arts, Entertainment, & Media 2) Business 3) Community Service 4) Politics 5) Science & Technology 6) Sports.

Rawlings specializes in the field of entertainment, corporate and fashion law. Rawlings is a member of Young Women Lawyers, Women Who Launch, Florida Association of Women Lawyers, and the Florida Bar Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law.

She is a graduate of Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center, Cum Laude (2010) and University of Florida, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration & Entrepreneurship Cum Laude (2007).

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