Alfred Bell & Co. v. Catalda Fine Arts, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
191 F.2d 99 (1951)
Relevant factsFree
Catalda (plaintiff) held copyrights on mezzotint engravings it produced of public-domain paintings, a laborious process requiring the engraver's own skill and judgment to hand-trace and scrape the image onto plates. Alfred Bell (defendant) used Catalda's engravings to make its own color lithographs for sale, and Catalda sued for infringement; the district court found the engraver's individual skill and judgment made the mezzotints original, ruling for Catalda.
IssueFree
Whether a copyrighted work must be unique to satisfy the Constitution's originality requirement.