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SANTA FE, NM October 7, 2016 - Ben Allison was quoted in a KRQE-TV story about the battle between Bad Ass Coffee Company and a new Santa Fe sandwich shop which took the Bad Ass name and a similar logo featuring a donkey.
Bardacke Allison LLP represents Bad Ass Coffee Company of Hawaii, Inc.
CAMBRIDGE, MA September 1, 2016 - A federal judge ruled last week that native art dealer Steve Elmore violated his contract with the Peabody Museum at Harvard University when he published more than 100 pictures of Peabody objects that he had been allowed to photograph for his research. The Court entered judgment ordering Mr. Elmore to pay the Museum $10,000.
“The Peabody brought the case after Elmore broke his contract by publishing research photographs in his book, and refused to discuss any correction or re-publication with appropriate photos and captions,” according to Ben Allison of Bardacke Allison LLP, the lawyer representing Harvard and the Museum. The Museum also objected that photograph captions in Elmore’s book did not identify the objects or meet Museum standards, and that the photography falsely conveyed the Museum’s approval, in violation of federal trademark law. “The federal judge had earlier ruled that Harvard was likely to prevail on its contract and trademark claims, and ordered a stop to any distribution of Elmore’s book,” Allison said.
Elmore made a variety of counterclaims in the lawsuit, alleging that Harvard had wrongfully declined his manuscript, was attempting to misappropriate his research, and was involved in a conspiracy against him. Based on these allegations Elmore claimed Harvard owed him millions of dollars. In separate rulings, the Federal Court analyzed Elmore’s allegations at length and concluded they were false, dismissing all of Elmore’s claims except a claim for $257 in travel reimbursement.
The day after the rulings were issued, the parties met and resolved the remaining issues in the case. The Museum forgave the $10,000 judgment and agreed to allow Elmore to sell a limited quantity of his book, provided that it carry the following statement:
The photographs attributed to the “Peabody Museum” or the “Keam Collection” were published without the Peabody’s permission or review, in violation of the author’s contractual obligations. Many of the images have been altered by photo-editing software. The Peabody does not verify that the images are accurate representations of the objects in its collections.
Similarly, photograph caption information was not reviewed or approved by the Peabody and does not meet Museum standards. The image on page 182 identified as a Peabody postcard is a screen shot from an old version of the Museum’s online database. This photograph was not approved for publication. The image in this book has been altered by the author to look like a historic postcard. The Peabody denies that any such postcard exists.
“The Peabody Museum has been committed to the study of native art from around the world, most notably the American Southwest, for more than a century,” Peabody Museum Director Jeffrey Quilter said. “We believe in open access for researchers, but also stand by the claim that photographs taken for research purposes should be used for just that: research. We are grateful that the court agreed with our position, enabling the important scholarship that takes place each day at the Museum to go forward.”
The case dates back to 2010 when the Peabody welcomed Elmore to research a volume on its Keam collection, which he believed contained ceramics created by famed potter Nampeyo. Elmore signed an agreement promising that any photographs he took would be for research purposes only and would not be published. The Museum also invited Elmore to submit a manuscript on his research. Ultimately, upon review, that manuscript did not meet the goals and standards of the Museum and its Press, and it was returned to him.
In 2014, Elmore published his manuscript with more than 100 of his research photographs in violation of his contract not to publish them. In addition, he copied 47 photographs from another Peabody Museum Press volume, Historic Hopi Ceramics (Peabody Museum Press, 1981), and doctored them to appear as drawings. The Museum considered this a violation of copyright in its photographs, but the Court held that Elmore changed the photographs enough so as not to infringe.
Neither Harvard nor the Museum claimed any ownership of the traditional designs of any of the peoples represented in its collections. This was clearly stated in Harvard Peabody’s first court filing: Harvard does not claim any copyright in the designs depicted in the photographs, but Harvard’s copyright in the Historic Hopi Ceramics photographs does protect the original photographic rendition of each artifact.
The Peabody Museum at Harvard University has collected, preserved, and supported the study of native art from around world since 1866. The Museum welcomes both academic researchers and artists to study materials in its collections. The Peabody has also published dozens of works highlighting the stunning artistic achievements of Native American peoples, including volumes such as Historic Hopi Ceramics, which has been used extensively by regional potters as a reference work.
Santa Fe New Mexican's article from Sunday, September 4, 2016.
SANTA FE, NM August 16, 2016 - Bardacke Allison LLP is pleased to announce that Paul Bardacke was selected for inclusion in the 2017 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America® for Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, and Mediation. Ben Allison was also listed for Commercial Litigation and Copyright Law. The Best Lawyers lists are chosen are based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation system. Paul has been listed in every edition of The Best Lawyers in America since 1993. Ben Allison is also featured as a litigation star in Benchmark Litigation 2016.
SANTA FE, NM July 21, 2016 - Bardacke Allison LLP is pleased to announce that the firm has been awarded the contract to serve as legal counsel to the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange. Justin Miller will serve as General Counsel to the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange under the contract. Justin has previously represented the Exchange and has a broad understanding of its objectives and goals. Bardacke Allison looks forward to helping the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange achieve its mission of making affordable health insurance available to all New Mexicans.
SANTA FE, NM July 20, 2016 - On July 28, 2016, Breanna Houghton of Bardacke Allison LLP joins the faculty of the 2016 Visual Arts & the Law Conference in Santa Fe. Breanna will present the conference’s first copyright session, "Copyright in the Art World: Selfies, Social Media, and Sharing." The conference is attended by art and museum professionals from around the country and is held at the Eldorado Hotel & Spa in Santa Fe. It is approved for nationwide CLE credit. For more information and to register, visit the conference website: CLE International.
SANTA FE, NM June 24, 2016 - The firm's new offices are located on the second floor of the Coronado Building at 141 East Palace Avenue in Santa Fe. The Firm is honored to join its neighbors in the historic Coronado Building, located across the street from the Cathedral Basilica park. Built in 1810 the building served originally as a Santa Fe County Courthouse.
SANTA FE, NM January 15, 2016 - Ben Allison was quoted today in a Santa Fe New Mexican article in which he commented on the legality of an advertising campaign that parodies New Mexico’s tourism campaign New Mexico True.
LAS CRUCES, NM December 10, 2015 - Federal Judge Robert Brack granted an injunction to Harvard University to stop further distribution and sales of a book that he found likely to infringe the trademark rights of Harvard and its Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. The federal court also held that the book published more than 100 photographs in violation of the author’s contract with Harvard. The author, Steve Elmore, signed a contract with Harvard allowing him to take photographs for study purposes only and prohibiting him from publishing the images. A trial in the case is set for December 2016. Bardacke Allison represents Harvard University.
SANTA FE, NM November 30, 2015 - Ben Allison recently assisted with rights agreements for the coming animation picture Sherlock Gnomes, starring Johnny Depp and produced by Elton John. The picture is a sequel to 2011’s Gnomeo & Juliet.
SANTA FE, NM October 15, 2015 - Conan Doyle Estate Ltd., Miramax, LLC, Roadside Attractions, LLC, and Bill Condon announce that the lawsuit filed by Conan Doyle Estate Ltd. against Miramax, Roadside Attractions, and Condon in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico has been settled to the satisfaction of these parties. Miramax, Roadside Attractions, and Condon thank Conan Doyle Estate Ltd. for the use of certain material authored by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the film Mr. Holmes. Bardacke Allison LLP represented Conan Doyle Estate Ltd in the lawsuit.