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The Baron A. Wolman Archives Trust v. Complex Media Inc.

Both Sides Denied Summary Judgment on Claim Article Infringed on Photo of Jimi Hendrix

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OPINION & ORDER On January 7, 2020, Baron Wolman brought this action alleging copyright infringement against Complex Media, Inc. (“Complex Media”).1 Doc. 1. Now pending before the Court are Complex Media’s motion for summary judgment, Doc. 27, and the Baron A. Wolman Archives Trust (“BAWAT”)’s cross-motion for summary judgment, Doc 32. For the reasons set forth below, both motions are DENIED. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND A. Factual Background2 Wolman was a professional photographer who created a number of photographs as the first chief photographer for Rolling Stone magazine in the late 1960s. Doc. 33 1.3 At issue in this case is one of Wolman’s photographs depicting the musician Jimi Hendrix (“the Hendrix Photograph”).4 Doc. 33 2. Wolman maintained ownership of the copyright of the Hendrix Photograph and registered it, along with hundreds of other photographs, with the United States Copyright Office in 2017 under Registration Number VA 2-114-914.5 Doc. 33 3; Doc. 35-2. On January 17, 2019, Wolman executed a notarized assignment of intangible rights, archives, and artistic property to BAWAT, which included his title and interest in all material works he created and any and all intangible rights in his work, and all existing copyrights to his photographs. See Doc. 35-3. On September 20, 2012, Complex Media published an article titled, “A Detailed History of Celebrity Sex Tapes,” which included an image of the Hendrix Photograph, on its website at www.complex.com. Docs. 29

6-8, 33 6. Wolman alleges that he did not discover the use of the Hendrix Photograph in the Complex Media article until November 2019, that he could not have discovered the use of the Hendrix Photograph any earlier with the exercise of due diligence, and that there were no “storm warnings” placing him on notice of a duty to search for the photograph. Doc. 33

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