Harvard Loses Copyright Infringement Claim | News | The Harvard Crimson

"A district court judge in New Mexico ruled against Harvard in a copyright infringement claim the University brought against the author of a Native American research novel late last month.

Harvard sued author Steve Elmore on three grounds: copyright infringement, breach of contract, and violating trademark policies at the Peabody Museum of Natural History during the time he was a researcher there. Thus far, the court ruled specifically on the copyright infringement aspect of the lawsuit.

At issue in the suit was whether Elmore—an antique dealer and researcher of Native American pottery—broke copyright laws by commissioning the illustration of several pictures of Native American pottery for his book, In Search of Nampeyo: The Early Years 1875-1892. Harvard argued that the illustrations, which were based off photographs from a previous Peabody Press publication, violated copyright infringement laws that precluded Elmore from reproducing the patterns...."