Re: Martha Graham Symposium at Frostburg State U

On 07/18/2000, Robert A. Baron <rabaron[_at_]pipeline.com> wrote:
>
> The New York Times (7/17/00) reported that the legal owner the
> copyrights of Martha Graham's works has rescinded the license given
> to Frostburg State University (MD) to conduct a scheduled symposium
> on the choreographer where faculty will 1) read from her published
> works and 2) teach her techniques in classes. In addition, he has
> 3) withdrawn license to perform one of her works for an audience
> made up mostly of friends and families of symposium attendees.
>
> Assuming that the symposium was constructed as a non-profit
> educational event, am I correct in assuming that activities 1 and
> 2 (above) are covered by Fair Use? As for the performance rights,
> how would one interpret this right in the light of section 110 (or
> other) of the US code? I'm also assuming that any fees charged for
> this symposium are merely intended to cover costs.

On my final exam based on this hypothetical, two of my students noticed something that I had missed. Under Florida Prepaid v. College Savings Bank, Frostburg State, an arm of the state of Maryland, would have sovereign immunity from suit for copyright infringement. While an injunction against state officials would still be possible under Ex Parte Young, the lack of an action for damages makes the University's decision not to go ahead with the Symposium all the more inexplicable.

Tyler T. Ochoa
Associate Professor
Whittier Law School
<tochoa[_at_]law.whittier.edu> Received on Mon Jul 31 2000 - 17:23:12 GMT