Follow Up: Judge Squashes Photographer Janine Gordon's "Wasteful" Copyright Suit Against Ryan McGinley

photo by s.butterfly

You may recall back in July we reported that photographer/rapper  Janine (Jah Jah) Gordon had filed a lawsuit against fellow photographer and contemporary art star Ryan McGinley alleging that the artist stole her visual style and subject matter — infringements that Janine felt deserved monetary recompense to the tune of $30,000 per "copied" artwork targeting at least 150 of McGinley’s works.  Well we have an update for you, Southern District Court judge Richard Sullivan has thrown out the case adding a dismissive court statement, the judge concluded that "the dictates of good eyes and common sense lead inexorably to the conclusion that there is no substantial similarity between Plaintiff's works and the allegedly infringing compositions of McGinley." Judge Sullivan clearly branded Gordon's claims as overblown: "Such a conception of copyright law has no basis in statute, case law, or common sense," he writes. "One might have hoped that [plaintiff's] attorneys, presumably familiar with the basic tenets of copyright and intellectual property law, would have recognized the futility of this action before embarking on a long, costly, and ultimately wasteful course of litigation in a court of law."