Photographer’s 12-Year-Long Fight Over ‘Blackbeard’s Law’ Might Be Over

Although the state of North Carolina initially agreed in 2013 to stop the copyright violations and pay Allen $15,000 for unauthorized use, the underwater photographer says further infringements continued. Then, in 2015, North Carolina passed “Blackbeard’s Law,” which allowed state agencies to freely use materials related to shipwrecks in their possession. Allen contends the state used this law to continue publishing his images, including in a film shown at a state maritime museum. READ MORE

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Copyright - 4th Cir.: Case-by-case theory of sovereign immunity will have to wait another day

Allen discovered that his work had been uploaded to an NC-operated YouTube channel and onto other social media platforms. Two years later, the State formally commandeered the footage for itself by enacting a statute, widely referred to as Blackbeard’s Law, that declared all photographs or video recordings of any “derelict vessel or shipwreck” to be considered public records. READ MORE

#piracy #NorthCarolina #copyright #NautilusProductions #Blackbeard #QueenAnnesRevenge #DNCR