Re: CNN/AP: "Appeals court opens Titanic wreckage to tourists"

On Thu, 25 Mar 1999, Terry Carroll <carroll[_at_]tjc.com> wrote:
>
> We've discussed the issue of limitations to view and photograph the
> Titanic wreckage that RMS Titanic, Inc. purported to impose. An
> Associated Press story on CNN's web site today reported that the Fourth
> Circuit has reversed a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge J. Calvitt
> Clarke Jr. that RMSTI had such rights (I hadn't been aware that there
> had been such a ruling -- I thought it had just been RMSTI bluster).

Does Judge Calvitt Clarke have a long association with IP law or whas this his first try at it?

> Judge Paul Niemeyer, writing for the unanimous panel, wrote that "a
> property right does not normally include the right to exclude viewing
> and photographing of the property when it is located in a public place."

I'm worried by the "normally" qualification here. Where does His Honour propose such a purported right could ever be properly claimed?

Welcome to Wonderland...

CS

"Galvanising Ideas"

Colin Seeger, Consultant, Management of Intellectual Property. P.O Box 3227, Tamarama, Sydney, Australia 2026 Tel: (61) (02) 9365 1186, Fax (61) (02) 9365 1286 <seeger[_at_]ozemail.com.au> Received on Sat Mar 27 1999 - 03:59:12 GMT