Monday, September 4, 2023

The Summer of Sand Tiger Sharks!!!

Presenting the World’s Greatest Collection of Sand Tiger Shark Footage! Big sharks, fearless divers and mysterious shipwrecks all combine to create a one of a kind stock footage library. These clips are just a small sample of the extensive Nautilus Productions LLC shark video collection. Check us out!

#stockfootage #stockvideo #NautilusProductions #sharks #sharkweek #sharkfest #sandtiger #NorthCarolina #atlanticocean #underwaterphotography #shipwrecks #BFDC #atlantischarters #greynurseshark

Monday, July 24, 2023

Piratical N.C. Copyright Law Deep-Sixed by Blackbeard Videographer!

In a story line the infamous pirate himself would love, North Carolina has repealed its own “Blackbeard's Law.” The law, passed in 2015, had targeted famous underwater photographer Rick Allen and his footage of Blackbeard’s flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge by converting all photography and videos of shipwrecks that came into State hands into public records that the State could use without payment. The State apparently hopes this will end a lawsuit...but it won’t.

The backstory is almost as old as the law. In 2013, North Carolina’s Department of Natural and Cultural Resources violated copyrights owned by Allen and his company, Nautilus Productions—and paid $15,000 to settle their copyright infringement claim. Desperate to keep using Allen’s unique footage but unwilling to pay, the State passed “Blackbeard’s Law” and the State resumed its buccaneering ways. Nautilus and Allen answered with their own broadside: a lawsuit in federal court.

Finally, on June 30, 2023, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill repealing Blackbeard's Law. The repeal came after 8 years of litigation, and is apparently triggered by the State’s realization that it had no legitimate defense to at least one of the federal court claims: that Blackbeard’s Law was a constitutionally prohibited “Bill of Attainder”—a bill that targets and harms an individual, without any due process at all. Since various State legislators had admitted to the motivation, it would have been hard to show otherwise.

The repeal was passed unanimously by the state legislature, and is being hailed as a victory not just for Allen and Nautilus, but for copyright owners nationwide.

“This isn’t the end of the road, by a long shot, but it’s a good start,” said Allen. He went on to explain: “The repeal of the law does nothing to negate the past and ongoing copyright violations, damages for those violations, or the eight years in which the state and its affiliates hid behind Blackbeard’s Law to justify their scandalous behavior.”

Allen pointed out that North Carolina didn’t just use Allen’s works without paying for them—it keeps defending its thefts by asserting that states are immune to copyright infringement lawsuits from creators like Allen and Nautilus. This is because states are considered “sovereign entities” under the law in some circumstances, which means that they can't be sued without their consent. But here's the kicker: North Carolina can sue its own citizens for copyright infringement! So, North Carolina asserts it can’t be sued for copyright infringement, but it can turn around and sue others for infringement.

This double standard is one that Allen and Nautilus’s lawsuit, Allen v. Cooper, continues to fight against. In addition to pointing out that Blackbeard’s Law is a Bill of Attainder, their lawsuit against North Carolina argues that the State effectively plundered Nautilus’ priceless footage of Blackbeard’s flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, for its own use—a prohibited “Taking” of his property in violation of the Constitution, and that the State's “sovereign immunity” defense is a violation of the 5th and 14th Amendment.

The fight goes on: “We will continue to hold N.C. accountable for its behavior just as N.C. and the Attorney General’s office prosecute anyone who engages in the theft of North Carolina property,” said Allen.

For nearly two decades, Nautilus Productions was the official video crew for the Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge Shipwreck Project. Nautilus Productions documented archaeological activities and the recovery of artifacts from Blackbeard’s infamous shipwreck at zero cost to the taxpayers of North Carolina. Nautilus’ footage of Blackbeard’s shipwreck has aired worldwide on the BBC, the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, National Geographic and many more.

The shipwreck was discovered in 1996 by Intersal, Inc. which has filed a separate breach of contract lawsuit in North Carolina’s Business Court. The State of North Carolina and its Department of Natural and Cultural Resources are defendants in that lawsuit. That trial date is set for February 19, 2024.

Nautilus Productions LLC is represented by Susan Freya Olive, solive@oliveandolive.com - (919) 683-5514 and David McKenzie, DMcKenzie@oliveandolive.com - (919) 683-5514 of Olive and Olive, P.A., Joe Poe, joe@poelaw.com - (919) 810-0311, of the Poe Law Firm, PLLC, and Adam Adler, aadler@reichmanjorgensen.com - (650) 623-1480, of Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg LLP.

#artsandentertainment #piracy #northcarolina #shipwreck #shipwrecklaw #maritimeheritage #Pirates #NautilusProductions #Blackbeard #Documentary #StockFootage #Privateer #Archaeology #EdwardThache #copyright #QueenAnnesRevenge #McCrory #history #FriendsofQAR #NCDNCR #BlackbeardsLaw #NCFilm #Blackbeard300 #IntellectualProperty #lawsuit #SovereignImmunity #SCOTUS #SupremeCourt

Sunday, July 16, 2023

Shark Week & Sand Tigers!!!

Presenting the World’s Greatest Collection of Sand Tiger Shark Footage! Big sharks, fearless divers and mysterious shipwrecks all combine to create a one of a kind stock footage library. These clips are just a small sample of the extensive NautilusProductions LLC shark video collection. Check us out!

#stockfootage #stockvideo #nautilusproductions #sharks #sharkweek #sharkfest #sandtiger #northcarolina #atlantic #underwater #shipwrecks

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

When the State Steals Your Work – The Illusion of More Podcast with Rick Allen

"In March 2020, the Supreme Court delivered its opinion in the case Allen v. Cooper. The outcome was not surprising because the Court affirmed precedent ruling from the late 1990s which held that the 11th Amendment bars suing a state or state actors for damages stemming from intellectual property infringement. Thus far, I’ve explored the murky waters of state sovereign immunity as it relates to Allen v. Cooper and other cases, including author Michael Bynum and photographer Jim Olive’s lawsuits filed in the State of Texas. So far, my focus in this area has been academic. But on February 8th, Rick Allen filed an amended complaint in North Carolina, and after I read that narrative, I wanted to invite Rick back to the podcast to talk more personally about his story, what it means to him, and what it should mean to anyone who hears it." LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE

Thursday, February 9, 2023

N.C. Faces New Federal Claims in Blackbeard Copyright Case!

The infamous pirate Blackbeard was once the scourge of the Atlantic but over 300 years later a different kind of pirate sails North Carolina’s waters. And a case heard at the United States Supreme Court has returned to Raleigh. On February 8^th, 2023 filmmaker Frederick Allen of Nautilus Productions, filed an amended complaint in Allen v. Cooper against the state of North Carolina and the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR) over the misuse of Allen’s copyrighted footage of Blackbeard’s shipwreck, the Queen Anne’s Revenge. According to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, North Carolina pirated Allen’s footage of Blackbeard’s flagship, and then passed “Blackbeard’s Law” (N.C. §121-25(b)) in 2015 to justify that misuse.

North Carolina has argued that Allen and other creators are barred from suing states and state entities for copyright infringement, even though states can sue their own citizens for infringing use of copyrighted works created by those very same states, under the guise of “Sovereign Immunity.” Allen’s lawsuit alleges the above inequity in federal copyright law and the passage of North Carolina’s “Blackbeard’s Law,” illegally converted Nautilus’ footage of Blackbeard’s flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, into the public domain. The lawsuit further alleges that North Carolina violated Allen’s 5^th and 14^th Amendment Constitutional rights through the passage of Blackbeard’s Law, and that Blackbeard’s Law represents a Bill of Attainder, or targeted punishment of an individual by the Legislature, which is specifically prohibited in the U.S. Constitution. Allen is also seeking an injunction to enjoin North Carolina from engaging in further copyright infringements or takings.

Allen stated, “The Copyright Clause and the 5^th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution are meant to protect citizens from unjust and illegal takings of their property without due process or compensation. This lawsuit will benefit all creators, who drive the American economy, and help protect them from intellectual property theft by states. Nowhere in the federal copyright statutes are states exempted from copyright law or immune from lawsuits - yet North Carolina argues just that.”

For nearly two decades, Nautilus Productions was the official video crew for the Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge Shipwreck Project. Nautilus Productions documented archaeological activities and the recovery of artifacts from Blackbeard’s infamous shipwreck for the benefit of, and at zero cost to, the taxpayers of North Carolina. Nautilus’ footage of Blackbeard’s shipwreck has aired worldwide on the BBC, the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, National Geographic and many more.

The shipwreck was discovered in 1996 by Intersal, Inc. which has filed a separate breach of contract lawsuit in North Carolina state court. The state of North Carolina and the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR) are defendants in that lawsuit. That case awaits a trial date in North Carolina’s Business Court.

The filing in Allen v. Cooper can be accessed here – https://illusionofmore.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Allen-Amended-Complaint_NC.pdf

Nautilus Productions LLC is represented by Susan Freya Olive, solive@oliveandolive.com - (919) 683-5514 and David McKenzie, DMcKenzie@oliveandolive.com - (919) 683-5514 of Olive and Olive, P.A., Joe Poe, joe@poelaw.com - (919) 810-0311, of the Poe Law Firm, PLLC, and Adam Adler, aadler@reichmanjorgensen.com - (650) 623-1480, of Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg LLP.