Itar-Tass Russian News Agency v. Russian Kurier, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
153 F.3d 82 (1998)
Russian Kurier, a New York-based Russian-language newspaper, and its editor (defendants) admitted publishing about 500 articles owned by Itar-Tass Russian News Agency and other Russian and Israeli-based Russian-language publishers (plaintiffs) without authorization. The plaintiffs sued for copyright infringement in U.S. district court, which applied Russian law and enjoined Kurier from further publication while awarding damages, prompting Kurier's appeal.
Whether, in international copyright cases, ownership is determined by the law of the country where publication occurred while infringement is determined by the law of the country where the allegedly infringing conduct occurred.