Roswell Artist Wins Copyright Case Over Oil Painting
Atlanta attorneys John Bowler, Mike Hobbs, Lindsay Mitchell Henner and Puja Patel Lea were featured in an extensive April 30 Daily Report article for their representation of Roswell artist Zheng Li in a copyright infringement lawsuit involving his original oil painting, Piano #9.
In 2012, Li was visiting an Atlanta Z Gallerie store when he found paintings titled Piano Coloratura for sale that were virtual copies of his work. Subsequent investigation confirmed that Piano Coloratura was being sold across the country via websites and galleries.
With the help of Troutman Sanders’ quartet, Li sued more than a dozen galleries and stores that were selling the knockoff. Last week, a federal jury awarded Li $885,174,finding that the 2004 copyright for his painting had been infringed.
“The similarities [between the two paintings] were so striking that two artists could not independently create two works that looked this much the same,” John said. “That’s how close they were.”
Mike, who said the imitation work was supposedly created in a factory, added that to this day, the trial team is still “a little confused” about how the knockoff work was created and when.