Copyright Law

Bad Review

By Intellectual Property Law, Esq.

"The Protestant paramilitary Michael Stone has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for attempting to murder Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness during a one-man attack on the Northern Ireland Assembly in November 2006 .... In his trial, Stone argued that his assault on the building was actually a work of performance art, and that the ax, three knives, strangulation cord, fake handgun, seven homemade grenades, and small bomb he carried were merely props."

More from the Guardian here.

Ed Winkleman will be pleased. Back in September, he said of Stone's "jawdroppingly cheeky defense" strategy: "Personally, I hope the courts dismiss this defense in crystal clear terms. Crime is crime, even when it's art. We can separate the two for consideration in the court of public opinion, but within the judicial system, there should be no distinction, IMO. Break the law, you pay the price."

Full post as published by The Art Law Blog on December 08, 2008 (boomark / email).