Satava v. Lowry Case Brief Summary | Law Case Explained

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Satava v. Lowry, 323 F.3d 805 (2003)
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but when it comes to copyright law, most original creators would gladly forego the adulation. The 2003 case of Satava versus Lowry examines one artist’s fight to copyright his jellyfish sculptures.
In the late 1980s, California artist Richard Satava was inspired by jellyfish he saw at an aquarium. In the nineties, he began to create and sell sculptures of jellyfish using a glass in glass medium. This medium is hundreds of years old and involves creating a glass sculpture that is later encased in a glass shroud.
Satava’s popular pieces were sold in gift shops and galleries all over the country and featured in magazines. Each of Satava’s works featured a brightly colored, vertically oriented, and lifelike jellyfish, with tentacles that were like tendrils, and a rounded head. The jellyfish occupied nearly its entire oblong shroud. Satava registered several of his sculptures with the U.S. Copyright Office.
Hawaii artist Christopher Lowry began to create and sell glass in glass jellyfish sculptures in the 90s. Lowry’s sculptures very much resembled Satava’s. In fact, consumers often confused the two artists’ works. Lowry admitted that he’d seen Satava’s sculptures in a magazine and also when a customer brought one in to Lowry for repair.
Satava sued Lowry in district court for copyright infringement and sought a preliminary injunction to stop Lowry from making the sculptures. The district court granted the injunction, and Lowry appealed to the Ninth Circuit.
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