In October 2018 we wrote about Anish Kapoor’s lawsuit against the National Rifle Association (“NRA”) for copyright infringement. You may recall that the NRA published a video called the “Clenched Fist of Truth,” a controversial video about the “liberal insurgency… destroying American Society.” In the video, were fleeting images of various sculptural and architectural works, including Kapoor’s “Cloud Gate” sculpture, an icon of the Chicago cityscape referred to by locals as the “Bean.”
Kapoor demanded that the image of his work be removed from the video and then sued the NRA for copyright infringement, demanding statutory damages of $150,000 per infringement, attorneys fees, and a share of the NRA’s profits from donations derived from the video. We pointed out in our article that each side in the dispute had a viable argument making it unclear who would prevail.
Apparently, the NRA’s attorneys deemed the lawsuit too risky to pursue and settled with Kapoor by complying with his demands to remove the image from the video. Kapoor issued a new statement demanding that the NRA donate $1 million to the victims of gun violence. We’ll see how far that goes. Nevertheless, Kapoor claimed victory: “this is a victory not just in defense of the copyright of my work, but it is also a declaration that we stand with those who oppose gun violence in America and elsewhere.”
— Adam G. Garson, Esq.