HBO Claims That Its Use of an Artist’s Painting of a Deadly Internet Meme Was Fair Game. But a Judge Isn’t Convinced

A Brooklyn-based artist is suing
HBO for using his painting of Slenderman—a spooky internet meme
that went on to inspire real-life violence—in a documentary on the
fictional creature without his permission. The network claims its
treatment of the work qualifies as fair use. But a judge is not so
sure. This week, Judge Margo Brodie rejected HBO’s motion to
dismiss the case, clearing the way for it to proceed to
trial.

In a complaint filed in Brooklyn
Federal Court last June, artist Joe Coleman alleges that the cable
network inappropriately used his 2014 painting,
No One Can Enter the Lord’s
House Except as a Child (Slenderman), in the true-crime documentary “Beware the
Slenderman,” which tells the story of two 12-year-old Wisconsin
girls, Anissa Weier and
Morgan Geyser, who attempted
to murder a friend as a sacrifice to the fictional, internet-born
villain in 2014. The film was premiered on HBO in 2017.

Coleman says his painting, which
depicts the Slenderman wrapping his elongated fingers around the
two children, is shown for over 25 seconds in one of the last
frames of the documentary. But, he claims, the producers never
asked for his permission. Instead, they created the false
impression that his work was available for anyone to reuse online
for free. And worse, he claims in the suit, “the documentary goes
on to misrepresent [Coleman’s] valuable painting as an example of
‘Slenderman fan art,’” essentially reducing its value. The artist
is seeking unspecified damages for copyright infringement and the
removal of the film from the marketplace.  

Coleman, who is represented by
Andrew Edlin Gallery in New York, is known for his dense, graphic
paintings inspired by comics. His work has been the subject
of solo shows at
the Palais de Tokyo in Paris
and the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in
Berlin. 

HBO sought to have the case
dismissed last November, claiming that its use was “transformative”
enough to be considered fair use because the filmmakers showed the
painting on a computer screen.

“Just as [Coleman] painted the
Work to comment on the Slenderman legend by using pieces of art by
other people, so too does the Documentary use Plaintiff’s work as
displayed online comment on the tragic inclusion of the Weier and
Geyser in the Slenderman meme,” HBO’s motion read.

Judge Brodie was not buying it.
On August 6, she threw out the network’s motion for dismissal,
allowing the case to proceed. “[HBO is] not entitled to a finding
that their use of the [painting] is transformative solely because
they display the Work in an Internet browser,” she stated in her
ruling. She added that she needs further information to determine
exactly why and how the filmmakers used Coleman’s painting before
making a final determination on whether or not it qualifies as
infringement. 

Coleman and representatives from
HBO are due back in court next month. Neither the artist nor HBO responded to artnet
News’s request for comment by publication time. 

The post HBO Claims That Its Use of an Artist’s Painting of
a Deadly Internet Meme Was Fair Game. But a Judge Isn’t
Convinced appeared first on artnet News.