WHO GETS THE BLUE DOG? THE RODRIGUE DIVORCE CASE
RODRIGUE V. RODRIGUE, 55 F. SUPP. 2D 534 1999 U.S. DIST. LEXIS 2088; 50 U.S.P.Q.2D 1278 (1999)
The Rodrigue divorce case involved more than a simple split of assets. George Rodrigue, the well-known artist and creator of Tiffany, the Blue Dog, wanted to keep total control and ownership of all intellectual property rights deriving from his Blue Dog creations and his ex-wife Veronica wanted to continue to receive profits from his exercise of those rights after the dissolution of the marriage.
"George
Rodrigue and Veronica Hidalgo, were married in 1967 and lived together under Louisiana's
community property regime until their divorce in
1994. Termination of the marital community was effective June 9, 1993. George is an artist
who created numerous paintings during and after the
existence of the community, some for which George obtained certificates of copyright.
The matter is before the court on cross motions for summary judgment. Veronica claims
that, by operation of Louisiana community property law
and in accordance with 17 U.S.C. § 201(d), she is a co-owner of all copyrights that arose
during the community and is therefore entitled to an
accounting for George's use of certain recurring images which, after the dissolution
of the community, continue to be thematically expressed in
George's paintings." (from the opinion; footnotes omitted).
Treatises and Restatements
Nimmer, Melville and David Nimmer, 1 Nimmer on Copyright§ 6A.03[C] and n. 50 (1982).
General Information (remember to verify all information found on the Internet through traditional research methods)
Law Data Website: Divorce Property Law
Property Division in All Fifity States
Sargent, Andrew, Property in a Divorce
Law Review Articles
Ciolino, Dane S., Why Copyrights are Not Community Property, 69 La. L. Rev. 127 (1999).
Nevins, Francis M., Jr., When an Author's Marriage Dies: The Copyright-Divorce Connection, 37 J. Copr. Soc'y Am. 382 (1990).
Nimmer, David, Copyright Ownership by the Marital Community, 36 U.C. L. A. L. Rev. 383 (1988).
Patry, William, Copyright and Community Property: The Question of Preemption, 28 Bull. Copr. Soc'y U.S.A. 237 (1981)(written before the Worth decision).
Perlstein, Michael J., Copyright as Community Property: Questions About Worth Are More Than Trivial, 9 No. 11 Ent. L. Rep. 3 (1988).
Polacheck, Debra, The Un-Worth-y Decision: The Characterization of a Copyright as Community Property, 17 Hastings Comm./Ent. L.J. 601 (1995)
Roberts, Carla M., Worthy of Rejection: Copyright as Community Property, 17 Hastings Comm.Ent. L.J. 1053 (1991).
Wong, Peter J. Asserting the Spouse's Community Property Rights in Copyright, 31 Idaho L. Rev. 1087 (1995).
Websites About George Rodrigue and His Work
MEET THE MAN BEHIND THE BLUE DOG (INTERVIEW)
WHAT ARE "BLUE DOG" DEMOCRATS?
Christine Corcos
Last Updated 04/17/2003